Author Archives: Thomas Ryan

Syrian Refugee Crisis

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I know I am late in writing a response to Prof. Case’s discussion regarding Syrian refugees and how the country of Hungary is handling the situation, but with the advent of some current events, the timing could not be better. On Thursday December 10th, the first Canadian government plane landed in Toronto carrying 163 Syrian refugees. This is the first step in helping these people leave the bad situations occurring in their home country and restarting their lives in a different country. I believe that the refugees should be allowed to come here, but there should be a system in place where there is some sort of background checks/ screening process. These checks and screenings would not prevent someone from entering, but flags would be raised if there is any suspicion of possible skeptical behavior. This is a very difficult situation where key decisions have to be made. According to a U.S. News article “A Syrian passport was found near one of the assailants in the Paris terror attacks…The discovery has heightened fears that Islamic State group terrorists could exploit refugee routes and resettlement programs to position themselves for additional attacks.” If an attack were to happen on U.S. soil, then of course there will be uproar about the policies in place. They’ll say how could you let these people in when they do stuff like that. There are always some extremes that ruin it for the majority of good people. America was practically built by people who were leaving unfavorable conditions in their home country to come here and make a life for themselves and their families.

Science, Religion, Climate Change, Oh My!

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In one of the more interesting Becker/ Rose Café meetings, Dr. Gregory Sloan discussed Galileo’s findings regarding the complicated relationship of science and religion. Sloan centered his discussion on the trial of Galileo and the various debates about what was at the center of our solar system. Dr. Sloan definitely has a lot of sagacity regarding the subject. Galileo discovered that the sun was in the center of our solar system and that the geocentric model that Aristotle and the church believed was anachronistic. One of the points that I thought was intriguing was when Dr. Sloan’s talked about how he thinks that people can devote themselves to science research and discovery while at the same time remaining committed to religious practices. Many people believe that science and religion are mutually exclusive, but I agree with Dr. Sloan’s opinion. Another topic discussed was climate change. Sloan related climate change to the Galileo vs Church debate when he talked about how companies effected what the public knew about harmful emissions into the atmosphere and how they are an environmental issue. This was a very interesting parallel to tie together the lecture.

Food for Thought

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This Becker/Rose Café was very intriguing. Many theories and studies regarding food and behavioral economics. One theory that the panel discussed was how people fill their plate with food while on a buffet line. The reason that during Rose House dinners there are mostly healthy options towards the front of the table because according to the panel, people usually fill their plates up to 60% with the first three items on a buffet table. Since the plate is filled with a majority of healthy food, there is less room for the not as healthy options. It is essentially a subconscious trick into getting people to eat healthier. Another topic discussed in the café was the debate about the banning of large soda drinks in NYC. My opinion on this is that the consumer should be allowed to spend their money on whatever they want to buy. If someone wants to buy a 16oz soda or sugary drink after a hard day at work they should be allowed to even though there may be negative health ramifications. I mean look at cigarettes. They are known to have very harmful health effects and yet there are really no restrictions on how many cigarettes someone could buy. The only restrictions are the age you can purchase them and that prices have been increased. It is intriguing to note that the panel mentioned that sales for soda actually increased as a result of the law. Possibly people bought an increased number of smaller quantities of soda. One possible solution is just an overall price increase to soda products. The option to buy is still available, but the high prices discourage the consumers.

Forgotten Treasures

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One of my favorite aspects that the Rose/Becker Café series brings to our Rose Scholar experience is that we are able to learn about something that is very unique in that we would not hear about it anywhere else. A great example of this was Drew Harvell’s presentation. In her presentation, she talked about the importance of the Blaschka Sea Creature models as well as how these pieces were almost forgotten in scientific teachings. It was amazing to see the skill and craftsmanship that went into creating these highly detailed pieces. The models were so lifelike that when looking at the model placed next to a photo of the real creatures, you could not tell the difference. It was also very interesting to find out that the glass models were actually used by Cornell professors to help demonstrate what these various creatures looked like. Also, for these amazing pieces to be sitting in storage is a shame. They should be on display for people to see and admire the life in our oceans.

What the frack?

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Last week during the Environmental Panel, one of the main issues that was addressed was “fracking”. “Fracking” or, as it is scientifically known, hydraulic fracturing is the process of using pressurized water to create fissures deep underground so that natural gas can be extracted from rock. “Fracking” has become a very controversial topic especially in NY because even though there are many economic benefits, there are also many environmental consequences. I am of the belief that there should be no fracking. The main reason I am against fracking is the effect it has on the farmers or whoever lives on the land surrounding where the fracking takes place. First off, while the people are paid a great deal of money for the frackers to use their land, many of them do not know what to do with their new found wealth. This leads to them blowing a large portion of their money on outlandish purchases and then they are back to where they started. The target market for fracking companies are poor communities because when shown a contract for a large amount of money, it is simply an offer they cannot refuse. Another reason that I am against fracking is the environmental harm that it causes. There are many cases where people’s tap water is actually flammable (See youtube video below). If there was a process where the gas can be extracted in an environmentally friendly way and where once the people get paid there would be a financial adviser assigned to help them budget their money, then I would be fine with the process, but until then no fracking.

 

Cruisin down the gorge listenin to Snoop Dogg

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The Cascadilla Gorge hike is one of the most beautiful places to walk around near campus. With the multiple waterfalls and fall foliage the setting was very serene. All of a sudden, as we stopped to listen to some more interesting information provided by our tour guide Todd Bittner there was a loud noise. “La da da da da its the m*********** D-O-double G…” rang out into the gorge. I could not help but just laugh.  A usually calm and peaceful gorge sounded like a L.A. nightclub (like I would know what a L.A. nightclub would sound like). The gorge had surprisingly good acoustics. We moved on down the gorge and learned about how for seven of the last eight years the gorge was actually closed to the public because of renovation and how the gorge was formed with the geology associated with it.

I would definitely hike the gorge again. Walking through was very relaxing and helped to get my mind off of the work that I had to do. The music was fine, but I would prefer possibly Kanye or Jay Z.

Faces in the Crowd

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Although I have never been labeled as artistic, I have always appreciated looking at pieces of art. One of my fondest memories growing up was visiting the Washington D.C. museum of modern and contemporary art. I nearly suffocated from laughing at most of the work. Now I understand that these artists invested a lot of time into their craft, but when you paste essentially four white pieces of oaktag on top of each other and it ends up in a museum I just cant hold it in. (See picture below)

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Tonight was different. A major reason why was because I actually got a chance to converse with the artist, Nicholas Carbanaro, so that he can paint me a picture of what he was thinking and feeling while creating his art. One question I asked Carbanaro was why is it that in every piece there was some sort of face or profile. He responded by saying that he sees different faces everyday. In the past he has worked at Madame Tussauds and was a member of the Ithaca College makeup department. Even today, he styles hair in collegetown. It is amazing the things you can learn about a person just by talking to them and the meanings you can make by examining art. It would have been interesting to see what the artist of the piece above was thinking when he was creating it.