Author Archives: Robin Wang

Acceptance of Climate Change

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Last Wednesday, Dr. Gregory Sloan joined us for our weekly Becker-Rose Cafe series. Dr. Sloan is a senior Research Associate at the Center for Radiophysics and Space Research at Cornell University. He focused on the history of struggles between science and religion. I found this discussion very interesting, and he talked about the well known case of Galileo and his theory of the sun being the center of the solar system.   However, one theme that caught my attention, and that has come up over and over again in our Becker Rose Cafe discussions is climate change. This time, we discussed the reasons why action is slow.

Science puts us in an uncomfortable place, it is so much easier to deny problems until it really becomes an issue. However, the evidence, which we have known for a while, overwhelmingly proves the the earth is undergoing climate change due to human activity. I think that it is very sad that the handful of scientists denying climate change are being funded by corporate big-money interests and many times that’s enough to stall action. The topic of climate change has come up in previous Becker Rose cafe series, threatening the biodiversity of our oceans and local/global agriculture. Climate change touches every living organism on earth and needs to be a priority in our nations agenda.

Capturing the Beauty of the Coral Reefs

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Last Wednesday, we welcomed Professor Harvel as our Becker-Rose Cafe guest. She screened David Brown’s film, “Fragile Legacy”, a documentary about the sustainability of marine ecosystems. Professor Harvell has worked on coral reefs in the Mexican Yucatan, Florida Keys, Hawaii, and Indonesia. The film showed how glass makers attempt to capture the majestic beauty of the sea creatures. Glass makers produce thousands of glass models for museums and teaching models and these models capture a diverse array of species, from sponges, jelly fish, corals, mollusks, sea slugs to starfish.

Previously I had noticed but the wonderful biodiversity and beauty of these creatures but had not thought much more of it. According to the documentary, the wonderful biodiversity is often passed over unappreciated, and we will never ever have the opportunity to admire their beauty and central role in in the ecosystem before they are gone unless we take action on climate change. The coral reefs are central to maintaining a balanced ecosystem. Overfishing and costal development has had a negative impact on coral reef ecosystems. Increasing pollution and carbon dioxide content has triggered an extinction crisis. These are all events that I am well aware of, but this documentary has shown even farther reaching implications to consider. It shows how climate change touches every living organism on the planet, every ecosystem and every habitat. The documentary has made me more aware and appreciative of our species rich coral reefs and environmental/conservation challenges.

Documenting the Art of Life with Marshall Curry

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Last Wednesday, we had a dinner conversation with Marshall Curry, a Brooklyn-based filmmaker of Academy Award nominated documentaries such Street Fight and If a Tree Falls. When I first signed up for the event, I had very little knowledge about filmmaking and documentaries, but I was excited to learn something new. One of the lasting impressions I had was that Curry was a great story teller- I was absorbed in the account of his career path and from the beginning to the current. Curry had no intention of becoming a documentary film maker, let alone an Academy Award nominee. He was a religious studies major in college and wanted to become a teacher. Then he went to Mexico with a couple of friends and later decided to make a film for fun and follow his passion because why not? The unknown film project about a local election Curry started out of a hobby would go on to become an Academy Award nominee, but not without hard work, rejection, and years of editing.

Curry then talked about what made a good documentary. One thing he mentioned was that he liked stories that had a clear beginning and end, so as one is constructing and editing, there is at least some structure built in. However, the topic must also be complex. The viewers should be wondering “whats next” at every point, because complex topics are not predictable. A charismatic main character is also a plus. I really enjoyed our conversation with Curry, his story and insight into the art of documentary filmmaking/navigating the unknown has left a lasting impression on me.

A Conversation with Professor Ohlins and a Tragedy of War

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For this week’s Rose-Becker Cafe series, Jens David Ohlins, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law at Cornell Law School, led a fascinating discussion on criminal law and its relevance to current events. This is a subject on which I have limited knowledge, but, as an avid follower of the news, I was very interested.

Earlier this week, a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan was tragically and mistakenly bombed by the US. There is much debate regarding whether this should be considered a war crime. Hospitals are usually known as protected sites in war, and there can be no attacks on civilians or safe zones. Professor Ohlins explained that there is much grey area between criminal and lawful collateral damage that weighs on many factors such as intention, magnitude of damage, and the value of military target. I found this part of the discussion very saddening as this is hugely relevant and a major problem with what is currently happening in the world; innocent civilians are being caught up in conflict and being displaced from their homes. I find it very sad to think about innocent civilian deaths being classified by the term “collateral damage”, as it transforms people’s lives into a number for interpretation. We should keep in mind the innocent victims of war, who accidentally become caught up in conflict, and be open to offer safety and shelter.

Farm to Fork

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Last Wednesday, I heard Mary Jo Dudely, Senior Extension Associate Director of the Cornell Farmworkers Program, and Justine Vanden Heuvel, Associate Professor in Plant Sciences, discuss farming/agriculture in America. This is a topic that I do not know alot about, and I was amazed to first learn about how much land New York devotes to agriculture and about the extraordinary amounts of food being produced. One interesting point brought up was that, when the average person buys a tomato at Wegmans, they rarely think about where the tomato really came from. As we enjoy dinner in the company of friends, how often do we think about the manual labor and long processes it took to provide the delicious food we eat? I know that I rarely think about where the food I eat comes from, the taste and cooking is always the first point of comment around any dinner table. The hard labor and cost put into the food is abstracted from the food itself. Now that I am more aware, I appreciate all that it took to produce the food we eat and agriculture’s vital link in society.

Another interesting point is that, as a nation, we are fully dependent on the hard work of our farmers to provide us with the nourishment we need. Despite the importance of the agriculture industry/farming, there is still a negative stigma attached to farm work. The hard, physical labor invovled may seem distasteful to the average American, but what would America be with broken agriculture? Agriculture is a multi-billion dollar industry, and its workers are largely undocumented immigrants from Mexico. It is easy to become distracted by the current state of the political world from the issues that really matter to the integrity of our country.  We should focus on immigration reform instead of infeasible ideas like Trump’s “wall” and provide all immigrants with the opportunity for happiness and security, a dream we all strive for.

American Indians Today

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Wednesday, I heard Professor Eric Cheyfitz, teacher of American literature, American Indian literature, and US federal Indian law, speak about the history and challenges facing American Indians today. I was interested to hear Professor Cheyfitz speak because I did not know a lot about Indians in New York/America.  I never knew that Cornell was built on the traditional homeland of the Cayuga people. Throughout history, there were many attempts to “westernize” and wipe out Indian culture. They had very little say in legal disputes and treaties were frequently violated. American Indians face many challenges today: they are currently the poorest community in the United States. Poverty is rampant, with the level reaching 80% in some areas.  Professor Cheyfitz believes it is important to learn about Indian history because we are built on Indian land, it is where we are. Yet, when he asked us how many people believed that they received a substantial education on Indian history in high school, only a very small minority raised their hands. Indian history is American history. It is not a story of victimization, it is a story of what the west has lost by forgetting.

Some More “College Advice”

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Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to hear Dan Schwartz, a Cornell English professor and author, talk about some pieces of advice he gives to college students. As I reflected on the points he made, one aspect that resonated with me was the realization that the advice he gave is valuable not only for college students, but for life and living in general, and perhaps even more pertinent once you’re on your own, post-college. Besides the classic I’ve heard it befores, “plan ahead, study abroad, take classes in the humanities, get involved…”, Schwartz emphasized his three R’s: Resilience, Resourcefulness, and Resolve.  Resilience, Resourcefulness, and Resolve are the cornerstones of success and failure. Everybody is going to have failures and struggles one time or another and sometimes having people you love and having a positive outlook are the only things that hold your head up. It’s about getting back up after running into a wall and not being afraid to take risks and run into it again. It’s about appreciating the good things. As Schwartz said, its not the college you go to that matters, its about what you do. Just like it is not about where you are now, good or bad, it is about what you do and having an open mindset.

Last but not least, his most important piece of advice: laugh a lot. If you’re not, you’re doing something wrong.