West campus is amazing. It is filled with beauty and hosts some of the best food, and dining halls on campus, but for the most part, people don’t know about its vast and exciting history. During a information session and tour hosted by House Professor-Dean Garrick Blalock, I was able to learn more about everything West Campus has to offer. To begin with, we were given a talk about Ezra Cornell’s history. As a poor farmer, and man with the school education of a 3rd grader, it’s surprising how he was able to build such a prosperous and thriving community. Starting as a farmer, and then later working for a plowing company, he was able to make some money. He was later approached by a man who laid down telegraph lines and he went on to modify the plow design in order to lay down telegraph lines better. Soon he was able to create networks upon networks of these telegraph lines until he was able to make his fortune. From this capital, Cornell was born.

After the lecture of Cornell’s history, we were given a tour around West Campus. We went to Noyes to learn about the events there such as free food and massages there every other Tuesday, and the indoor basketball courts that are a bit hidden away in Noyes. Afterwards, we went over to Lyon hall, and were told about the Quill and Dagger society: an old, secret society at Cornell that created McFaddin and Lyon Hall to commemorate the Cornellians that died in WW1. There is a secret elevator that takes you to the very top of Lyon hall, which is the society’s headquarters. We were able to also visit the War Memorial room in Lyon, and see the relics and documents remembering the fallen heroes. It was great seeing such a fascinating piece of history so close to the students.

Our tour ended with a trip through the underground tunnels connecting Becker to Rose. These tunnels are used to transport food from the loading docks in Becker to Rose dining because Rose itself doesn’t have a loading dock. It would be cool if these tunnels were open to students. While logistics would be awful, it would be pretty handy not to have to walk around so much in the cold once winter hit.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience getting to learn more about West campus through its history as well as all that it had to offer to students currently. The tour definitely made me appreciate McFaddin and Lyon hall more after learning how they are memorials to the past.

Cornell always has had its history of housing issues. Last week, the Rose Scholars attended a tour of West Campus led by Prof Garrick Blalock, who spoke about Cornell’s history. We should take pride in that the intent behind Cornell’s founding is significantly different than that of the fellow Ivy League colleges. Prof Blalock went over how Cornell’s founder, Ezra Cornell only had the equivalent of a third grade education, but he worked his way up from being a carpenter to building the telegraph business, and he found Cornell to be open to “any person, any study”, in contrast to the other Ivy Leagues’ unofficial mottos: “any rich, white, Protestant male who wants to study theology”. However, because of Cornell’s unorthodox history, Ezra Cornell also didn’t want to have a dorming experience in which the students were isolated from the greater community; thus the majority of the students rented and lived in houses in Collegetown. Eventually, North Campus was developed for all the freshmen to live together, but there weren’t any great housing options for upperclassmen who wanted to stay on campus. Thus, West Campus was developed in response with the residential college system. The tour explanation, along with a similar “The History of West Campus” talk by Prof Kramnick at last year’s Rose/Becker Cafe Series, helped to illuminate how the housing system at Cornell came to be. Cornell’s extensive history helped to explain why Cornell doesn’t have a housing system like many other older universities and how West Campus came to be.

On the tour, we visited the War Memorial Room attached to Lyon Hall and the underground tunnel that connects the loading dock at Becker House and Rose House. The tour was a great experience, especially since the War Memorial is closed off during the rest of the year. The aspect I always loved about West Campus is that the architecture is a mix of the traditional, archaic gothics with the new, modern main house buildings. Living in the main buildings, it is easy to forget how much history that’s in West. The Baker Flagpole arch is something that all West Campus students pass by every day, but I had no idea that it was specifically a war memorial for Cornell students who served and died in WWI. It was also really nice to see the tunnel that connects the Becker loading docks and Rose House; since Rose doesn’t have a loading dock on its own, all the food served in Rose is transported through the Becker tunnel. Unfortunately, we need Becker card access to get into Becker, I was hoping we would have a convenient way to get from Rose to Becker when the snow piles up outside. The tour helped us all to appreciate the little intricacies on West Campus, and Cornell’s larger history.

Last weekend I attended the Behind the Scenes Tour of the Rose House and was pleasantly surprised among all that makes Rose unique from all the other houses on West Campus. Although Rose was the last new building to be built, it possess so much character from the other halls: Mennen, Lyon, & South Baker.

Despite feeling miserable standing outside in the pouring rain, I’m glad I tagged along. One of my favorite moments was learning about the War Memorial and its history because besides seeing that its architecture is beautiful, I knew absolutely nothing about it. And that felt somewhat strange considering I walk through that central arch every single day. Learning that the War Memorial was built in order to honor Cornellians who died during World War I and that the two sides represented the Army and Navy really opened my eyes and made me realize that there are so many hidden symbols around campus. The War Memorial was extremely well-maintained considering its age and struck me as something special to Cornell. It’s tucked away in a “hidden room” yet has so much emotional impact once you’re inside. The power of the symbolic pictures, architecture, flags, and words decorating the room truly evoked a sense of pride.

Being a part of a community that is so united and supportive- something much larger and more meaningful than just a student body, part of a university- warmed my heart. This made me realize some of the reasons why there is so much pride in calling oneself a “Cornellian”.

The tour of the secret rooms on West Campus really gave me some knowledge on the past of where I live. I knew that West was very new and probably was built quite recently but I never thought about what existed here before the fancy main houses were contsructed. Professor Blalock described how the old university halls were apparently quite unsightly, of poor quality, and did not have any of the current residential college style events that West now offers. This made me grateful to be at Cornell after 2008 when West Campus was completed. He also offered insight on what West was supposed to have that was never completed because of the recession of 2008. The landscaping was never done, for example, which is why we are stuck with just two sad picnic tables sitting in the open grass field. Hopefully someday the landscaping plan will be in place and people will actually want to spend time in that fishbowl-like quad.

Probably the most interesting destination we were taken to on this tour was the War Memorial Room in Lyon Hall. We entered through these small, locked doors and were greeted by a quite large, lofty room with beautifully painted ceiling beams and stone carving. I was glad I came on this tour to see this incredible hidden room that I would never have access to otherwise.

The juiciest information we got on the tour was about the Quill and Dagger Society room, ie. where it is, how to get into it, where to enter the elevator, etc. Of course, you kind of had to be there for that…

On October 3rd, instead of staying in all day and watching Mean Girls, I went to take a tour with the rest of the Rose Scholars around West Campus. I was originally intrigued by this event because I had no idea there were any secret tunnels around Cornell (spare for the one that connects Olin and Uris libraries…) and really wanted to know where they were.

Professor Blalock gathered us in the Rose Common Room and took us to Noyes. Originally, I didn’t think there was anything too secretive about Noyes — I went to the gym there a few times this year and I’ve seen the rock wall before, but I was pretty surprised to see the basketball and volleyball court right below me. In addition, the staff there let us know that every other Tuesday, Noyes has a spa night, where students can get free manicures, massages, and food! Did I mention it was all free? I might have to take a stop there one night.

After Noyes, we all gathered around Baker Flagpole, where Garrick told us about the history of the West Campus Housing System. In addition to the other Gothic buildings at the base of the slope, there are the two War Memorials — Lyon Hall for the army and McFaddin Hall for the navy — built by the Quill and Dagger Society, commemorated to those who lost their lives in World War I. These War Memorials used to be open to the public but are now kept under lock and key, preserved by the Cornell ROTC program.

Inscription inside the War Memorial of Lyon Hall

(I also learned some insights about the Quill and Dagger Society, Cornell’s secret society. I was really intrigued to learn that the society meets at the top of Lyon Hall, which I could easily access through my dorm. But unless I don’t want to be eligible for the tapping class for my senior year, I can’t go up and visit the meeting room without having an escort. Still, it makes it not so secretive to know  a little bit more.)

Finally, before Garrick took us through the tunnel that connects Rose House and Becker House, he told us a little more about the history of the West Campus housing system. Originally, when west campus dormitories were being built, there were plans to have Gothic buildings all over the area, but then the builders ran out of money. So instead, around the 1950s, mobile buildings were used as temporary student living, which I’ll bet didn’t really blend with the Gothic architecture at the base of the slope. It was only around ten years ago when the housing system was initiated to bring the communities closer together through integrated houses — Flora Rose being the youngest house and Alice Cook being the oldest. Garrick also told us how strange it was to have the houses named after Cornell professors instead of donors or famous presidents, something I haven’t realized before. I found this to be interesting as well, since I try to look at the inscriptions of the professors along the sides of the houses regularly.

I was glad to see that there was more than meets the eye to West Campus. This tour made me even more glad that I was able to move into such a finely woven, intricate community.

On our tour of Cornell we learned about Yale.

For housing, each Yale student is assigned a residential “college,” which they remain in for the rest of their years there. While this doesn’t exactly allow room for interaction with the outside community, it builds a community and solidarity between students. Yale alumni aren’t identified by what major they were; they are identified by what designated residential college they lived in.

Also, apparently, since Yale originally housed only elitist White Anglo-Saxon Protestant males in the 1700’s, dorms include one large bedroom–originally meant for the student– and one small bedroom– originally meant for the student’s servant– so Yalies would have to deck it out between roommates to see who gets the bigger bedroom.

So that’s fun!

On Saturday, I had the pleasure to go on a tour to investigate the hidden places around West Campus.  Although I already knew about the ‘secret’ places in Noyes, the War Memorial Room and tunnel between Becker and Rose was fascinating to learn about.

The tour started in Rose Main Lounge with a history lesson about Cornell. I am a history major and I do plan on taking the Cornell History course at some point, but Professor Blalock’s brief history was very interesting.

My favorite part of the tour was the War Memorial Room. Not only is the room located a meer two floors down from my room in Lyon Hall, but I am also extremely eager to learn more about either of the Great Wars. I find that history fascinating. The inside of the room exudes an air of remembrance and the tour was appropriately solemn as we entered. Inside was a list of the names of Cornell graduates and students that fell victim to Europe’s political games in World War I – a tragic waste of young lives. We did not receive as much time as I would have liked to explore the room, but the University offers tours a few times a year which I plan on attending. The folded flag, which is meant as a tribute to the country and armed forces, was the perfect touch. Below are a few photos of the list of World War I victims and a copy of the letter written by the President Hoover.

The tour was a touching experience and I look forward to the next tour of the War Memorial room, where I’ll hopefully learn even more about Cornell’s rich history.

I was really impressed by last week’s tour of West Campus. First, it uncovered several things that I didn’t even know existed on West: a gym, a war memorial room, a secret society, a secret society headquarters, and a hidden tunnel. In addition to exposing these new places, the tour also explained some of the history of West Campus, as well as of Cornell more generally, and it’s really striking! Cornell doesn’t have the elite background you might expect given its reputation today – Ezra Cornell started out as a farmer of little means, although he ended up as a successful businessman through his involvement in the telegraph enterprise. What was more impressive to me than Cornell’s professional path was his vision for the university. Although I regularly pass beneath red banners reading “…any person… any study.” as I walk across campus, I didn’t give much thought to the radicalism of Ezra Cornell’s idea until I was reminded that the university was founded in 1865, just as the Civil War was ending. That Cornell was dedicated to providing instruction to minorities and to women in that time period is remarkable.

The tour also prompted me to reconsider the present structure of West Campus. It was an excellent reminder of the easily forgettable truth that just about every aspect of our living space is the result of a conscious decision made and carried out by someone or some group sometime in the past. The War Memorial by the flagpole is the result of the fundraising efforts of the Quill and Dagger Society, intended to commemorate those Cornell students, faculty, and alumni who gave their lives in World War 1. The secret tunnel between Rose and Becker is the result of design choices to accommodate the practical needs of the dining halls. That Rose House is named for Flora Rose and not for a donor was another conscious choice. These choices, however remote from us they may seem, have shaped the landscape we are living in, and this in turn shapes our behaviors and experiences every day we spend here on West.

In short, then, the tour opened my eyes a little wider to Cornell and to West Campus and encouraged me to have a better look around. With a little digging, I’m sure there is much, much more to learn.

Living in Lyon Hall this semester has been a huge privilege but also a big mystery. Here I am living in a beautiful tower surrounded by so much history, but I cannot access any of it. The war memorial is always closed and cannot be entered without permission while the famous Quill and Dagger society congregates at the top suite of the tower every month without even leaving a trace of their presence in the hall. How do I enter the war memorial? How do I sneak into the Quill and Dagger meeting ? These were the questions that roamed my mind whenever I entered Lyon Hall. Fortunately, one of my wishes was granted this semester when I went on the secret passageways, rooms, and tunnels tour through the Rose scholars program. I was looking forward to exploring Lyon Hall during the tour, and I’m so glad that I got to enter the war memorial and learn about the tower’s fascinating history.

When we entered the war memorial, I was shocked to find out that it had been closed to the public due to several incidents of littering and damage . How could such a historic and sentimental place become so privy to human uncleanliness? The room itself had a very sacred quality to it. The angels painted on the wall, the words of inspiration carved  along the ceilings, and the intricate architecture outlining the four walls reminded me of an European Church. The whole aura of the room was very inviting and calming. I felt that I could sit there for a long time just staring out the windows or looking around the room examining each corner very carefully. After the leaving the memorial, we discovered that the Quill Dagger society’s existence was not that big of a secret but their meeting place definitely was. Apparently the only elevator in the building was reserved for the Quill and Dagger members to take to the top floor of the hall. I couldn’t believe that we had been deprived of such a luxury! How come no one told us about the elevators on move in day, when I had to carry my boxes up four flights of stairs? Nevertheless, I felt somewhat excited knowing that the elevator was the key to reaching the top of the tower and entering the Quill and Dagger meeting room. I was already forming plans  on how to use the elevator to reach the top of the tower and see the secret suite when Garrick told us that only seniors are allowed to enter the meeting room. This meant that I either had to get inducted into the society as a senior, or find a member to take me up to the top. Either way I still had two more years of living in the dark. At least I got to enter the war memorial right?

I guess I should be a little ashamed that I knew so little about the history of Cornell University’s founder Ezra Cornell, but the entire story was not anything I expected.  I had always just assumed that Cornell was like all the other schools in the Ivy League, originally intended to be a place where rich white protestant men could learn about theocracy.  Discovering that Cornell was actually a land grant university for the state of New York with the message “Any person, any study” founded during the end of the Civil War helped me to realize how unique of a place Cornell really was.  Ezra Cornell knew what it was like to come from nothing, to be a poor farm boy with nothing more than a 3rd grade education.  In his circumstances he never got the chance to pursue higher education and when founding his university he made it clear that he wanted Cornell to be a place where anyone could come and learn regardless of their background.

We didn’t just talk about the history of Cornell and its founder, but also the history of West Campus.  I absolutely love living on West and I’m proud to say I live in a historic and beautiful gothic building.  Interestingly enough West Campus was originally intended to be all gothics, but when the university ran out of money for the project they decided to just build some ugly square residence halls with no decoration.  It wasn’t until recently when those ugly buildings came down for the new House System we know today.  I especially loved to hear that West Campus was originally intended to be a car free area and I love the fact that they’re putting a gate up to stop cars from driving up gothic way.  I’ve walked up that road at night to get back to my dorm and have had to get out of the way of speeding cars, and there really isn’t a sidewalk.

All in all, I really enjoyed learning about Cornell and West Campus’s history and I would like to thank Professor Blalock for taking us on the tour and sharing the history of this amazing school with us.  And also for inviting us into his apartment for desserts, sushi and apple cider (it was delicious).

“I would found an institution where any person could find instruction in any study.” – Ezra Cornell.

As many of you know, Ezra Cornell is the founder of the university we’re all part of today. But perhaps what you didn’t know is that Ezra dropped out of school after third grade. That’s right. Even without a high school diploma or a college degree, he started one of the world’s most prestigious institutions. And out of curiosity, one might ask, “Well how was it even possible that he could have created such an institution with such a weak academic background?” The answer: dedication and hard work.

Shortly after dropping out of school, Ezra Cornell worked as a carpenter in Ithaca. His financial situation simply didn’t provide enough for him to pursue any of his academic interests. But fortunately, he didn’t think much of it and continued to apply all that he had learned into his job. In fact, his hard work paid off and he became well known enough to be hired by Colonel Beebe to be a manager of a mill. (Beebe Lake in Fall Creek at the Cornell Plantations is actually named after Colonel Beebe!)

While Ezra was working at the mill one day, a friend named Francis Smith approached him with a problem. Smith needed a way to dig a ‘two and a half feet’ trench to lay down telegraph lines. It turned out that Francis Smith had close business relations with Samuel Morse, the developer of Morse code as well as the single-wire telegraph system, and intended to build a telegraph line that ran underground from one place to another. Without hesitation, Ezra stepped up to the plate, crafting and patenting a plow that would dig a two and a half feet trench in the dirt. However, the plow was never put to use since it was later seen that the lines would freeze under the ground during the winter. Nevertheless, Ezra showed his persistence and invented a way to lay telegraph lines, but not on the ground. He decided to suspend them in the air on poles, where the wires would be wrapped snugly around the wood and capped with a glass jar to preserve the electrical charge. And with this new method came a new business.

Since the concept of telegraph lines were relatively new, Ezra completed most of the installations himself. But during this time, most of these companies did not have the money to repay Ezra for his efforts. As a result, they paid him by giving him shares, making him a partial owner of small, scattered companies. Once a carpenter, he had suddenly become a wealthy, industrious owner.

And when Ezra had raised enough money from this business, he worked with Andrew Dickson White to establish Cornell University. His original intents were to create an institution that provided affordable education to anyone from anywhere and thus objected to the creation of dorms. But luckily for us, this idea didn’t sit long with future presidents, which led to the creation of North Campus and West Campus shortly thereafter.

Though I originally thought the tour on Saturday would’ve been purely about the secret tunnel connecting Becker and Rose, I was truly fascinated by the history of Cornell Professor Blalock presented. Thinking back on it, Cornell is not only an academic institution but also a success story!

Last weekend I was able to be part of the tour of West Campus. During this tour, we explored tunnels and hidden rooms while learning about the history of Cornell.

The tour was opened with a bit of a history lesson about Cornell. While I thought I knew a lot about Cornell, I was fortunate to learn a lot more that I had not already known. We learned about the history of West Campus and how these dorms that we live in came to be. In addition, we learned about the very start of Cornell. I found it interesting about how Ezra Cornell thought that we should be integrated more within the community we study, so he was against the building of dorms. I thought this was a very interesting take on college living. I had always wondered why the living situation at Cornell was very different than other colleges that I had visited. This opened my eyes to a different way of thinking about integrating myself into the community that we are lucky enough to call home here in Ithaca.

After the bit of a history lesson, we took a tour around some hidden rooms and secret tunnels that make West Campus, and especially Rose House, so special. We visited the beautiful War Memorial Room in Lyon Hall and learned about the Quill and Dagger room upstairs. After this, we were able to see how our food gets transported into Rose. We explored a hidden tunnel below Rose that is connected to Becker.

I really enjoyed this tour because I was able to learn so much more about Cornell and West Campus that I did not already know along with exploring and seeing different aspects that I did not know existed. I am happy that I was able to take part and learn so much.

There is so much I didn’t know about the history of Cornell or West campus.

Our tour started in the study room in Rose House where Professor Blalock told us about the history of Cornell. I never knew that Cornell’s motto “any person, any study” was a radical

idea at its time or why Ezra Cornell moved to Ithaca. We next went to Lyon Hall where the War Memorial room is located. I learned the building the War memorial was proposed by two students after WWI. Before this, I didn’t know Lyon is different from any other dorm, or that there is an elevator that goes to a secret room which is the meeting place for Cornell’s secret society Quill and Dagger. We then went through the tunnel that connects Becker and Rose’s dining halls. We ended the tour at a reception at Professor Blalock’s apartment and it was a great way to get to know the other scholars better. I really enjoyed the event!

For last Saturday’s scholar’s event, we were lucky enough to be taken on a tour of Rose house by the house professor Blalock himself. This took us into Noyes, through Lyon hall, an ended with a secret tunnel connecting Becker and Rose. In addition, we learned a great deal of history about west campus, and Ezra Cornell. One bit discussed extensively was Ezra Cornell’s life, and what kind of person he was. On an interesting side note: I learned on an Anthropology tour of the school that although Cornell was famous for opening an institution that let any type of person in, he was notable for his belief that Catholics would ruin the school! Of course, this tour focused on the positive messages of Cornell. It really is pretty cool to hear how he built his entire fortune from telegraph wiring. From what Blalock claims, Cornell was even somewhat of an authority on the matter.  He even had his own patent for a type of plow to make ground installation possible (although it was never utilized). All of this was done with only a third grade education.

The tunnel was also pretty cool. It’s used to bring food from Rose to Becker, as the walkways aren’t designed for vehicle traffic. Therefore, food needs to be taken through a tunnel, as Rose has nowhere for a loading dock. Blalock mentioned we were allowed to go into the tunnel any time we pleased, which was good, because I already had on a previous occasion. However, he mentioned that his apartment was right above the tunnel, and because of the “shoddy” construction of Rose, he could hear every word said down there.

After the tour, we were welcomed in professor Blalock’s own apartment. There was sushi and hot cider. And best of all, his dog Pepper was there!

It was really good to get out of Founders and look around West Campus, because I spend so much time either just in my room studying (or watching netflix) or up on central. I had never taken the time to explore the space around me — I had never even wondered how the food got into Rose since there is no loading dock, but it was really cool to see how food is transported between the houses on West and the thought and planning that went into making West a truck free area.

I had always wondered about the war memorial, about whether the names on the walls in the arch were all there was too it – I had no idea the memorial room existed, but I was glad to see that it does exist and that it is well kept.

I was also very excited to learn about the free massages and manicures and food at Noyes every other Tuesday – I am looking forward to making this my next study break! It was also very gratifying learning about Ezra Cornell’s life because the next day someone asked me about the history of Cornell and I was able to spout all these new facts about how he put up telegraph lines, made a fortune and founded our university. This tour was a great study break and I learned a lot about both Cornell’s history and Cornell today.

I really enjoyed this event! I learnt a lot of things about Cornell and West Campus that I didn’t know before from listening to Professor Blalock. I especially found his story about Ezra Cornell fascinating. He was a farmer and he only went to school up until grade 3. But when he got into the telegraphing business he made a word for himself and became successful. And now his legacy lives on through Cornell.

Cornell, and especially West Campus have changed a lot throughout the years. The first building on West Campus was Founders Hall and the newest building Rose main. For a long time, housing on Cornell was not seen as very important, and the men were all living off-campus. The women, on the other hand, were seen as more delicate and in order to protect them even more, they lived on campus. Slowly, there was a shift though and residential housing began to be built on campus. All the freshmen live on North campus, but there wasn’t really a place for upperclassmen to go unless they wanted to live off-campus or join a fraternity or sorority. And that is why West is so important, because it offers a community for upperclassmen on campus.

What stood out to me during the event was the visit to the War Memorial room in Lyon Hall. I actually had no idea that the room was even there before this tour! Unfortunately, it has to stay locked nowadays because there used to be too much vandalism there. It was the secret society Quill and Dagger that raised the money to build the whole war memorial. And they still have their receptions at the very top of Lyon Hall. Apparently, the only elevator in all of the Gothic buildings on West is the elevator up to their secret room.

Below are some pictures of the War Memorial room:

After the tour, we all went to Professor Blalock’s apartment and has sushi and desserts. He has a cute little dog whose name is Pepper and before the reception, when we were walking in the tunnel between Becker and Rose, he could hear us and started barking loudly.

On Saturday I went to the Behind scene event. First Professor Blalock briefed about the history of Cornell university and how Ezra Cornell came to decide build the university in Ithaca. I was really surprised that Ezra Cornell has no higher education and made himself a rich man through innovation and years of hardworking. That is an inspiring story.

After touring in Noyes, we went to the War Memorial Room. It was a mysterious locked room on the first floor of Lyon hall. The Memorial room is small but very clean and organized. They said that the ROTC people have been cleaning it regularly. I feel proud of the Cornell students that gave their life to the country. Although I am not an American, I admire this spirit very much and hope that one day I can be well equipped enough to make contribution to my country as well.

Then there is the secret tunnel connecting Rose and Becker dinning. I didn’t notice it until the professor told us that there isn’t a single food truck in north campus because all food as transported through the tunnel. I really appreciate that Cornell has put into a lot of thought in building a better living environment for students.

In the end we went to Professor Blalock’s house, which is located at the first floor in Rose. It was a very beautiful house. We had amazing sushi, apple cider and cake during the reception and I met some new people. It was amazing! Thank you for organizing this event!

I thought that Garrick’s tour was a lot of fun and quite informative as well.  From an actual learning experience standpoint, I actually liked the opening talk about Cornell’s history the most.  I had no idea that the origins of Ithaca had to do with its accessibility from the ocean via Cayuga’s connection to the Erie Canal (I did know that you could reach the St. Lawrence Seaway from the southern tip of Cayuga, but that’s only because I was looking at a rather large map of the area down at the sailing center a couple of weeks ago).  I had never before pictured the trade origins that contributed so heavily to Ithaca’s establishment, in addition to the abundance of harvestable energy in the form of waterfalls.  The image in my head of people sailing goods down Cayuga Lake is a rather cool one.  I actually instructed in one of the small boat sailing PE classes this semester, and having spent a lot of time in the same body of water (albeit in a much smaller boat) was rather cool.

The other highlight for me was the War Memorial room.  As a member of Naval ROTC, I have a lot of appreciation for everything that goes into that room, the memorial, and Cornell’s connection to the military.  Fun fact for anybody who’s curious about the War Memorial: there are 264 names of Cornellians inscribed there.  There were actually 265 to die in the war though–one went home and fought for Germany.  His name, unsurprisingly, is not there.

The Behind the Scenes tour gave an inside perspective of Rose House itself, but it also gave an interesting look into the history behind Cornell University. Especially when compared to the other Ivy League schools, Cornell has its roots deep in the culture of the working people of America. Ezra Cornell earned his fortune by following the American dream, working odd jobs and finally finding his way through hard work and a little bit of luck. He then proceeded to found a university where anyone, not just anyone with a lot of money, could get a good education. I found it interesting that this university, that has so much influence and prestige today, came from such humble roots. And it makes me even prouder to be a student here.

Despite the rain and cold, the tour of West Campus was a really wonderful way to learn more about the community we live in. While I’ve admired the beauty of West every time I’ve walked down the slope this year, this event made me realize that I didn’t know much about it. The tour was placed perfectly in the year at a time where we had adjusted to calling West Campus home, but where we still had a long time to directly benefit from knowing more about it.

I thought that beginning the tour with a brief history of Cornell’s origins set the tone of the event very well. At first I wondered how talking about Ezra Cornell’s life story was relevant to West specifically, but as Professor Blalock asked more and more basic questions that none of us knew the answers to (like “Where did Ezra Cornell go to college?”) I realized that learning about West would be meaningless without understanding the larger context of Cornell.  Because we ended the tour talking about West’s very recent history, such as the new House system and the institution of our own Scholars program, the event flowed naturally from broad to specific and from past to present.

I gained snippets of information about a surprisingly wide range of topics while on the tour. I had no idea that Cayuga Lake connected to the Erie Canal (even though I live five minutes from the Canal at home), and I didn’t know you could get free massages in Noyes on Tuesdays. I loved getting to hear about Quill and Dagger and the Memorial Room inside Lyon Tower, and I enjoyed getting to actually see this room even more, because it’s locked up so much of the time. What I found most interesting, however, was the bitterness that many Cornell faculty apparently have towards West Campus. I had heard professors talk about the intense cutbacks and the low morale after the 2008 stock market crash, but I had never made the connection to this being when West opened up. Luckily (at least in my opinion) the new West Campus has turned out to be extremely successful, so the University’s spending doesn’t seem frivolous in hindsight.

Last Saturday, professor Blalock gave us a fascinating tour of West Campus. Before this tour, I thought I know a lot about West Campus. I know where most buildings are located, I explore different dining halls, and I have an idea of the accomplishments of the professors whom each house is named after. But the tour made me realize how little I know, and that West Campus is not just a group of dorms that look gorgeous under the sunset. It has many secrets and a lot of history behind it.

Our first stop of the tour was Noyes. I was pretty confused when professor Blalock brought us there, because Noyes doesn’t seem special at all to me and I can’t think of any secrets that this ordinary community center could have. But it turned out that it had a lot more resources than I thought it would. It has a badminton court where I can play my favorite sport on Saturdays and don’t have to lament on living far away from Helen Newman. Free food and free massages on every other Tuesdays are also appealing and would sure attract me to go to Noyes more.

Our second stop was in front of Lyons. In the drizzle, professor Blalock talked about the history of the two war memorials: McFaddin Hall and Lyon Hall, and we were able to take a look at the memorial room in Lyon. The room was small, quite and clean. It reminds how fortunate I am to be born in a world of peace, and how I should cherish my current freedom and happiness.

Our last stop was the tunnel between Rose and Becker.  On the event description a secret tunnel was mentioned, and I thought it might be a small tunnel in the basement of one of the Gothic buildings. But when we ended up walking to Rose through the tunnel, I was amazed and appreciated Cornell’s effort in building a safe residential community for us.

Overall, this tour helped me learn more about the history of West Campus, the history of Cornell, and moreover, incited me to learn more about this great University that I am attending.

Despite the unfortunate weather, I thoroughly enjoyed Professor Garrick Blalock’s Behind the Scenes at Rose House tour this past weekend. From the history lesson about the university and the life of its founder, to the many features of Noyes, to the secret Quill and Dagger Society room and the War Memorial in Lyon Tower, it was a special experience. Perhaps the most fascinating part for me, however, was learning about the history of the West Campus House system, that led up to the revelation of the secret tunnel between Rose and Becker.

Standing outside the Becker dining hall, Professor Blalock explained to us the surprising fact that, at its conception, Cornell was designed to have had no dormitories at all, as the founders had thought them to be another way in which college students were isolated from the communities around them. Apparently, however, as time went on, the university realized it might be nice if the freshmen could all share a similar first-year experience through living in dorms with each other, and therefore North Campus was created. Further down the line, West Campus was created as well, but as it was not large enough to house the entire sophomore class, most students did not live there for more than a year, and it did not seem to serve a greater purpose than extra housing. The idea of the modern West Campus House system then was ultimately to create an environment that was able to foster a great sense of community with other students beyond freshman year and a tie to a residential place similar to that created by the residential college system at other universities. At the same, the capacity of West Campus was not expanded by very much, and so even as Cornell continued to move towards a dormitory school, much of the student population continues to live in the Ithaca community, as Ezra Cornell had wanted. To me West Campus seems like the right balance of the two important concepts of creating a strong academic community and engaging with the local population, which is just one more reason why Cornell is a truly an amazing and unique school.

This past Saturday, I had a wonderful time learning about the secrets of West Campus. Led by Professor Blalock, the tour comprised of learning about Ezra Cornell’s background and West Campus’s history as well as exploring Noyes, the War Memorial Room, and the tunnel adjoining Rose and Becker.

The prospect of visiting the secret tunnel was what motivated me to participate in the tour. However, the information that Professor Blalock imparted to us was as fascinating, if not more, than the mysterious tunnel. I found the War Memorial Room in Lyon Hall particularly interesting. As someone who visits Lyon Hall, I had wondered about what the room contained. In the room, there were furniture and an enumeration of the Cornellians who had lost their lives in war. Above the names was a painting of two angels. As I stood in the room, I felt a wave of pride for our school for having had such brave and devoted students.

Moreover, I learned from Professor Blalock about how the West Campus Housing system came to fruition. It was eye-opening to hear that the five West Campus Houses were deliberately created to become an all-inclusive place that not only provided housing, but also offered a collaborative community that eliminated intangible walls among students. This is different from the residential communities of other Ivy Leagues such as Harvard and Yale, where the “small-village” experience can be constricting.

Lastly, after we visited Becker, Professor Blalock led us to the tunnel that connects Rose House and Becker House. I had always wondered how food is transported to Rose’s kitchen, especially since I never saw a food delivery truck by the House. When in the tunnel, Professor Blalock explained that delivery trucks arrive at the Becker loading dock, where the food is transported to Rose House through the tunnel.

Overall, the tour was very fun and I learned a lot about the more obscure facts about West Campus. I highly appreciate the knowledge that Professor Blalock shared with us!

I’ll admit, the whole reason I went on the behind the scenes tour was the prospect of a secret tunnel. However, the erst of the tour ended up being even more interesting than the secret tunnel. I thought the best part was the war memorial room. Here’s a picture of the room

I always thought it was strange that the memorial didn’t have any actual commemorative area, but I discovered that it does, just off limits to the public. After the war memorial we headed over to Becker House, where we went through the “secret tunnel” that workers use to transport food from Becker’s loading dock to the Rose dining hall. Here’s a picture of the tunnel:

Now, if you were imagining an old, underground cavern complete with torches and everything, as I was, you may be a bit disappointed. However this modern tunnel is still cool, and opened my eyes to how my food reaches me, something I had never bothered to consider before.

Last Saturday, I was given the opportunity to get to know Cornell and the Rose residence. Like many other students, I was under the impression that Ezra Cornell came from a decent amount of money, when in actuality he had humble beginnings. It was not until he was well into middle-age that he managed own most of Western Union through shares. With his newfound money he along with Andrew Dickson White created Cornell University. Cornell was revolutionary at the time because it allowed any person to study and gain knowledge at the institution. At the time most institutions only allowed a specific type of person to be educated.

But aside from Cornell’s founding, we learned about the not so secretive quill and dagger society. There meeting room happened to be at the top of the Rose Lyon building. Rose is divided into Lyon and Mennen Halls. These halls are devoted to Cornell students who died in WW1 and in later wars. Lastly, we stopped at Becker to see where the food we eat and take for granted is brought into Rose.

Overall it was a nice and informative tour that made me appreciate Cornell and West campus.

Going on the tour of Flora Rose House this past (rainy) Saturday was quite an experience, especially because I learned so many things about the newest West Campus dorm that I hadn’t previously known. For one, I wasn’t aware that the whole “Secret Society” rumor of Lyon Hall was actually a thing. Professor Blalock informed us (while we were standing in the pouring rain, might I add) that on the very top floor of the Gothic Tower across from McFaddin Hall was the home of the Quill and Dagger Society, a secret club whose actual proceedings no one quite knows. When I’d first heard of the society, I thought it was just a story started to keep students from venturing up to the top floor (which I now know we couldn’t even do if we wanted to), but lo and behold, the society actually exists, and they only recruit students when they’re in their senior year. A goal of mine before I graduate is to, not become a member myself, but just to find out what exactly they do at these super-secret meetings.

The next stop on the tour after that was the War Memorial Room in Lyon, which–as a resident of Lyon Hall–I pass on an almost-daily basis. Inside, was a beautiful mural of angels on the wall, under which was a list of all the Cornellians who had lost their lives in any American war. I thought the concept of the room was absolutely beautiful, and I’m not going to lie, I got a definite sense of patriotism being in there. I wish the room could be open to the public during daytime hours, but it makes sense to keep such an important room locked up from potential vandalism. (Below is a picture I got of the impressive painting.)

Yet another secret part of Rose that I had no knowledge of prior to Saturday was the underground tunnel that ran between Rose and Becker Houses. Used for food delivery trucks to get foodstuffs from Point A to Point B, the tunnels were a very cool thing to see because I hadn’t even been aware that there were any. Additionally, I thought it was especially funny to learn that Professor Blalock’s apartment was right above the tunnel, which he proved to us by yelling his dog’s name up at the ceiling–to which Pepper replied with his adorable bark a few seconds later.

Following the exploration of the underground maze that is the tunnels, the group ventured back up to the ground floor, where we ate sushi and desserts and drank hot apple cider (which was all absolutely delicious). Overall, despite the rain and cold and general gloominess of the day, this adventure full of secrets was definitely one for the books.

“Wow, I’m glad I went on this tour.” That’s the thought that ran through my head multiple times Saturday afternoon. I originally embarked on the Behind the Scenes tour to see the Secret Tunnel, but several of the other places we toured were just as interesting. Professor Blalock gave a brief history of Ezra Cornell, full of facts that I had never heard nor expected. Fun fact: Ezra Cornell was a hardworking farmer from a working class background who only had a third grade education, yet he created what would become one of the best universities in America–and the world. If that’s not a slice of inspiration, I don’t know what is.

We dodged the raindrops to Noyes, where I was excited to learn that every other Tuesday there’s free food and massages in Noyes. Here’s to hoping I remember to take advantage of those massages as prelim season continues.

The next leg of our journey was to the archway between Lyon and McFaddin. While the rain splashed down, he told us tales of the famed Quill & Dagger secret society and their secret elevator–something I wish I could have used on move-in day, but alas. Everyone was thoroughly relieved to finally shuffle inside Lyon out of the rain, and into the locked rooms on the first floor which I had yet to see before. The war memorial inspired a silent respect from the group, as we quietly moved around, examining the names of those fallen and the solemn architecture of the room. I’m especially glad I got to see this room, since it’s usually locked and I hadn’t seen it before despite passing it every day on my way to my floor. I’m glad that there’s a memorial in Cornell for those fallen students. It’s pretty hard to imagine what it must be like to go to war as someone my age, and I was glad to see there was a place honoring their memory.

We ended in Becker house, where we crept underground and explored the facilities and operations hub that produces the famed West Campus dining for which Cornell is known. After a short pause in the secret tunnel, Professor Blalock kindly allowed us into his apartment, which was wonderfully built and smoothly integrated into the main house.

I’m most glad that I had the opportunity to see so many different places on West that I wouldn’t have the opportunity otherwise, but the most fascinating parts were the backstories that left their palpable memories on every surface.

Thanks to House Professor Blalock, I learned a bit more about the history of West Campus yesterday.  It was fun to be down in the secret tunnel beneath Rose House.  I almost felt like a special agent on a mission (with about thirty other Rose Scholars).  Watching the dining staff preparing for dinner from the back of the kitchen was not something I expected from the tour.  The reception at the Professor’s apartment was delightful; Pepper certainly attracted our attention with his timid appearance.

Also, I have always wondered what those two little doors in Lyon Hall were for!  They actually lead to a memorial for those Cornell students who sacrificed during the the first World War.  It felt very sacred and spiritual in there.  The light passing through the stained glass presented a sense of serenity.  Although it was a little crowded when all the Rose scholars entered the shrine, feelings of honor and solemnity washed over me.  These Cornellians shall never be forgotten and their service during the war will forever be recognized.

Today I participated in the west campus/rose house tour. I was able to explore Noyes recreation center, the War Memorial room in Lyon hall, and the “secret” tunnel connecting Becker and Rose House. I additionally was lucky enough to learn plenty of history presented by Professor Blalock on Cornell. I learned that Ezra Cornell did not have past a 3rd grade education and that he was involved in the transmission of the first ever telegraph. These are all very interesting, neat things that had I not attended the tour I likely would not have known.

What I realized post-tour was that there is so much about Cornell that students don’t know. Students generally don’t realize all the history surrounding them on Cornell’s campus or all the secrets that surround them. There is so much around Cornell that will surprise students if they learned it. What this event made me realize is that even beyond tours, there are so many other resources available to teach students about Cornell. Whether a student talks to a professor, historian or even an alumni, there are people surrounding us everywhere who have stories to tell about Cornell’s history. And if students were more open to learning about Cornell’s history, there is so much more we could learn about our school!

Today, I took a behind-the-scenes tour of Rose House, with Professor Blalock beginning our visit by recounting a few pieces of Cornell’s history. Despite Ezra Cornell not having attended college – in fact, his education stopped after the 3rd grade – he still made great contributions to the invention of the telegraph and developed a unique vision for a university, where “any person could find any study.” Professor Blalock highlighted how “radical” Ezra’s vision truly was in the 1800s, a time when other elite universities were almost completely comprised of “rich, white, Protestant males studying theology.”

After guiding us through Noyes and the memorial room in Lyon Hall, Professor Blalock spoke about the history of Cornell housing. I had always wondered why we have limited on-campus housing. Professor Blalock explained Ezra’s reluctance to create stifling residential colleges—he simply did not want students confined to smaller, restrictive communities for their entire four years at Cornell. Though the current-day housing lottery and lease-signing of Collegetown apartments can create chaos and stress, I am glad that Ezra did not organize our school into residential colleges. Personally, I love that I can experience living in various environments and communities every year.

Our tour ended with a walk through the underground tunnel from the Becker loading dock to the Rose kitchen. This underground tunnel was created so that delivery trucks would not need to drive on Gothic Way (and possibly hit students!). This final part of the tour gave me an appreciation for the meticulous planning that goes into designing and maintaining West Campus.

sometimes i think that the world’s too small now. historically, people have always wanted to discover, to explore.  it’s why today we love star wars or lord of the rings or doctor who or a million other stories about rich new worlds. we want to say, “i don’t what that is, but i’d like to go find out,” and it’s hard to do that now when google maps makes finding someplace in the remote french countryside as easy as finding your friend’s house. the blurb for this week’s saturday rose event mentioned hidden rooms, secret tunnels, and sushi (question: what has two thumbs and loves sushi?), so the micro-adventurer in me was pretty excited. first, our group listened to a bit of history on the founding of cornell university. i’m not usually the biggest history buff, but i did really enjoy finding out that ezra cornell only had a third grader’s education. i think there’s a lot to be said for a man who, with very little formal study of his own, dedicates his legacy to advancing the education of others. next we went to noyes, and found out about the different facets of its fitness center, which wasn’t really of much interest to me, apart from the revelation that their are free massages every other thursday. (question: what has two thumbs and a lot of tension in the shoulders?) next we saw the world war one memorial, and i leaned a little about the quill and dagger society, which i’d never heard of before. cool name, incidentally. after that garrick took us to becker and vented about his pet peeve of domino’s pizza delivery men/women driving through west campus. he’s having a gate installed to prevent this, despite the glaring issue that domino’s pizza delivery men/women will no longer be able to drive to west campus and bring me pizza. this segued into garrick’s explanation of how the food in rose dining gets to rose dining. en lieu of a helicopter based delivery system, cornell has built a series of tunnels under west campus to transport meals without big trucks driving through the dorms. i love getting lost places, so i had a blast walking around in the slightly labyrinthian-feeling passages. especially when i learned we can access those tunnels anytime we want; i’ll probably wander back there periodically for the rest of the year while i procrastinate assignments. finally, garrick and his wife were nice enough to open their home us and provide us with sushi, and an opportunity to interact with their superfluously cute dog. i had a great time, and would rate my experience 10/10 and would happily recommend it to a top ten friend.

Everyday I walk down the slope and open the heavy door to enter Lyon Hall, I see the sign that says “War Memorial” but I’ve never understood how a dorm could be a memorial.  Today, as part of the Rose Behind the Scenes Tour, I learned about the the memorial I’ve been living in for the past month and a half and I now have a new appreciation for Lyon.

The two towers (Lyon and McFaddin) and the archway leading onto West Campus were built to honor the Cornell students who lost their lives serving in WWI.  The names of all these students are engraved on the interior walls of the arch.  If you walk inside Lyon Hall, there are two mysterious doors to the left, which do not lead to dorm rooms and are locked most of the year.  On the tour, we were able to see the Memorial Room which lies behind these locked doors.

The construction of the memorial was organized by the secret society Quill and Dagger, who occupy the top of the Lyon hall tower and have their own elevator (I wish I had an elevator to take me up the 6 flights of stairs)!  No one is allowed to see the “sanctuary” at the top of the tower while they still could be chosen to be in the secret society (members are chosen at the beginning of their senior year).  So if you want to see it, I know I do, you just have to wait until your senior year after the Cornell Daily Sun publishes the names of members, find one of them, and get them to take you up!

I was excited to take a tour of West Campus and learn more about the history because the history of West Campus, in a way, is a part of the history of my family. I’m the third generation of my family to live on West Campus and each generation experienced something almost entirely different. In the early 1950s my grandpa lived on West Campus in what’s called a Quonset Hut. As the name implies, these huts were not luxurious. Luckily, when my mom lived on West Campus she got to live in the relatively luxurious University Halls. From what Professor Blalock said about the U-Halls they were only luxurious in comparison to the huts of 1950s West Campus. Somewhere in the middle my aunt lived in one of the gothics. As a family we have it all covered.

My favorite part of the tour was to hear a new perspective on the evolution of West Campus. The current iteration definitely seems more thoroughly plan than previous iterations. Instead of just a place to sleep, West Campus is now a place to do much more. It was interesting to hear about how Cornell built upon the residential college system of other universities and made something similar, yet distinctive. This system has succeeded to create community between members of the same house, but not create barriers between residents of different houses.

I was also interested in the tunnel system that connects some of the houses together. I’ve spent some time in the U.S. Capital where a network of tunnels keeps Congressional Representatives out of the Washington summer heat as they journey to vote. In Ithaca, heat is not the issue, but rather the cold. I wondered how a pedestrian tunnel system would change the dynamics of West Campus in the winter time.

It will be interesting to see what the next generation of West Campus will bring. However, I feel that whether it’s a hut, a U-Hall, or a gorgeous modern dorm the people inside the building matter much more than the buildings themselves.