On a snowy day in April, I was feeling ready for spring to come even more than usual. I wanted the warmth and to see the missing sun again. On that day I went to the Johnson Museum and worked with clay. It was nice to do something with my hands instead of my mind for once. We made fruits and vegetables that we were eager to have this summer. My piece of clay became a watermelon. It was fun to do something artistic and I learned a lot about the museum while I was there. I have spent almost an entire year at Cornell and yet before that day I had never even gone to the art museum. There are so many programs that I have not utilized there and I cannot wait to make use of them now that I know where to go.
War Within Us
This past Rose Cafe, GRF Tyler Moeller came to present about vaccines and the engineering process for them that he concentrates his research in. I was very excited to hear we would be having a STEM speaker at one of the cafes since we usually have more speakers in the social sciences. It was very interesting to hear about vaccines and the work they do for us, as well as the work being done through modern science to make them more effective and accessible. I must admit, towards the beginning of the presentation I was quite lost with all the terminology and biological mechanisms since I hadn’t seen biology material since my freshman year of high-school. Tyler made these complicated mechanisms very easy to understand and answered all the questions very well to make sure everyone was understanding the basics of what vaccines do.
I was completely shocked to know that we have so many ways of creating vaccines. I had always thought all vaccines were weaker strains of the full live bacteria we were hoping to protect ourselves against. It was very cool to learn that not only can we use cell parts as vaccines, but we can also use sugars, toxins, outer membrane vesicles, and many others. All of these different ways of tricking our own body into reacting and storing memory cells of the foreign substances for future attacks made me realize just how intricate our inner workings are and how fascinating it is that we have such a grasp on the things we know about ourselves.
Tyler also talked to us about his work in developing a vaccine for the very rare and dangerous Francisella tularensis bacteria. Developed as a bioweapon by the Soviet Union, vaccines for this bacteria are of great interest to the US government for some of its members that work in areas at high risk of chemical attack. The interesting thing about this bacteria is that it hides from detection and therefore doesn’t allow your body to attack it making it very dangerous to remove. All in all, this presentation was amazing and very informative about a topic I knew nothing about.
Redesigning Ithaca
At this past weeks Rose Cafe we had Noah Demarest, a practicing landscape architect in Ithaca, show us the many projects going on in Ithaca that he was working on. Noah founded his company, STREAM Collaborative, some years back and has grown it into a primary architecture and landscape architecture firm in Ithaca. The passion with which he spoke about architecture was very inspiring and made the presentation very interesting.
Coming from a large city like Miami, where one often sees more development than anything else, I was surprised to see the large amount of projects that just Noah’s firm was undertaking at the moment. The growth that Ithaca is undergoing at the moment in terms of developments is very surprising. I believe Noah’s firm was currently working on five large scale residence projects, the majority of which were in Collegetown. It was cool to learn about the design process and the different laws in Ithaca and NY State that sometimes make the project harder to complete. I really liked how Noah showed a great interest in sustainable development in his thinking and designs, I have always appreciated how conscientious the Ithaca community is about the environment and their effect on it. All in all, I was greatly enjoyed the presentation and time Noah shared with us and I look forward to seeing his completed projects.
Sleep Factor
During our table talk on Monday, we talked about how common it is for college students to fail to get adequate sleep every night. According to Dr. Maas, college students should be getting 9 hours of sleep a night. Previously, I had always heard that each person’s sleep cycle was different, and quality of sleep depended most on REM cycles. I was surprised at how much sleep he said was required, as I can often sleep for far fewer than 9 hours and go about my day without being tired.
Since arriving to Cornell, I actually haven’t been so stressed out about monitoring my sleep schedule. In high school, the 7:30 AM start time, paired with daily late-night rehearsals and practices, sleep was scarce for me, and I only got 5 to 6 hours on average. At Cornell, I’ve been fortunate enough to start my days at 10 Am and sometimes even later, allowing me to sleep for 7 to 8 hours. However, when I do not sleep, I force myself to push through the day, as I do not like taking naps in the afternoon.
I thought some of the correlations and comparisons from the study were interesting. There is a high correlation between lack of sleep and being overweight. Additionally, 80,000 people fall asleep at the wheel each day, but this has never happened to me. In fact, driving helps to make me more alert of my surroundings.
Up in the Skies
This week we had Delta Airlines Pilot Mike Comella as the guest speaker for the Rose Cafe. I enjoyed his conversational approach as he immediately opened the floor to absolutely any questions we had on his career and flights in general. There were many fascinating questions asked with even more fascinating answers. I enjoyed learning about how Mr. Comella had gotten to where he was now; it was one of those spur of the moment decisions that inevitably led him down a runway and into the skies, where he has been for the past 32 years of his life. Though I always trusted the safety of planes and flying, it was very reassuring to hear Mr. Comella speak with such confidence and knowledge on the safety of both the mechanics and regulations of commercial flights.
I really appreciated the opportunity to learn more about flying, a dominant form of transport to and from Cornell for someone like me that lives in Miami. Flying is so often left to the experts and unquestioned so it was surprising how much I hadn’t thought about all the times that I’ve flown, like how long can a pilot fly consecutively? what do the pilots that fly across the pacific for 12+ hours straight do? I was relieved to hear that there is a regulation on the number of hours a day, a week, a month, and a year that a pilot can fly to ensure they are well rested. I was surprised to find that for longer flights, they’ll have larger crews to allow for rotations and sleep cycles for the other crew members. It was a very cool experience all in all to be able to hear about the magic of flying from someone who practically lives in the sky.
Lifting the Curtain
In last week’s Rose Cafe we had a conversation with Chris VanDruff, Manager of West Campus Housing Facilities, about all the work that goes on behind the scenes to make this a comfortable home for all of us that live here. He first spoke to us about his background as a tradesman and how this position was a change for him as he was no longer doing the physical labor. As manager of West Campus Housing facilities he coordinates and plans the logistics of corrective maintenance for all of West Campus. VanDruff talked to us about the prioritization methods for determining the urgency of fulfilling a maintenance request. His top priority is fixing any issue with lighting, along with that priority is ensuring the security systems of each of the houses is functional, if a card-reader is broken, or a door does not latch, he will always have a worker on it immediately.
VanDruff was very explicit about his primary concern as manager: the safety and well-being of the residents of West Campus. The consuming nature of classes here don’t really give students the opportunity to realize that they live in a place that needs constant maintenance, a majority of which goes on right under their noses yet is so vital to keeping them safe and comfortable. It was very refreshing to access a different perspective on such an undervalued service we receive here on West Campus. Having the chance to meet Chris VanDruff was very comforting to me, knowing that my safety and well-being lie in the hands of such a responsible and experienced professional was very reassuring in a place that is so far from home.
Exceptional Care for Us
This past week’s Rose Cafe featured Cornell Facilities Manager, Anthony McCabe, as he spoke about the effort that goes on behind the scenes on West Campus to make it as comfortable and homely as it can feel to us. Mr. McCabe spoke to us about the immense amount of communication and coordination between the staff that this work required, priding himself on his focus on speaking with his staff and always keeping tabs with them. Above all, Mr. McCabe was very interested in our feedback and questions we had about facilities operations. As he wrote down each point brought up, I was greatly comforted by his care and attention to detail.
Immediately after the session with Mr. McCabe, I noticed all the work and found myself thinking about all the planning that must be done by the facilities staff. This new knowledge gave me a fresh take on the place I had been living in for half a year, one that made it feel even more like home because I truly felt the care provided by the men and women that work behind the scenes day in and day out.
The following time that my bathroom was cleaned, I noticed something different. The trashcan, that had until now been placed directly below the hand dryer, had been moved to another corner of the bathroom. I smiled and thought to how the issue had been brought up by someone else in the cafe session that the hand dryer blew tissue paper out of the bin and onto the bathroom floor creating a mess that often exited to the hallway. This previously unnoticeable act had great meaning since I had been made aware of the great amount of respect and care we are treated with by these silent heroes of West Campus.
Table Talking About the Olympics
On Monday evening, I sat down with GRF Tyler to talk more about the Olympic cheating scandal involving the country of Russia. During the talk, we shared our opinions on what we thought was a fair penalty for a country that condoned cheating. In my opinion, the Olympics should be about rewarding the best athletes in the world with a chance to compete for the gold medal. I believe that many of the Russian athletes were innocent from the scandal and should not be penalized.
We also discussed what the “Russian ban” really meant, as all of the Olympians from Russia wear the same uniforms. When I see the athletes, I still consider the country of Russia to be the winner, so I do not feel as if the penalty is very strong. I am somewhat skeptical of how effective this punishment will be, however, I have confidence that no other countries will successfully be able to cheat to the extent that Russia did in Sochi.
A Penalty for Cheaters
Last Friday, numerous students gathered in the dining hall to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympic games. During the ceremonies, Olympic athletes for Russia marched out wearing grey uniforms without bearing Russia’s flag. This was done as a form of punishment handed down from the IOC after a severe doping scandal from the previous games.
As a result of this punishment, all Russian athletes will be competing as independents. Whenever a Russian athlete wins, the Olympic flag will be raised and the Olympic anthem will be played. In my opinion, this was a fair punishment, as I do not believe that Russia should be represented by athletes, but I do feel as if the clean athletes should not be deprived of competing. Many athletes dedicate their lives to training for the Olympic games and many have only such a small window of time to be among the elite class in the world. By banning all Russians, many deserving athletes may never have received their fair chance to compete in the games.
After reading about the scandal and learning more about the process, I became even more curious in discovering how exactly they pulled it off. Additionally, I think it’s interesting that two of the main chemist’s colleagues suddenly died once the IOC discovered the cheating scandal. I believe that all those who were involved with the doping scandal should be permanently banned from the games.
Russian Olympic Rights
Despite the controversy about the Russian Olympians being accused of doping, I personally find it just as unified for the non-accused athletes to compete under a blank flag. With the Olympic symbol shown and the athletes in white, it is almost as if a reminder that they are citizens of the world and not just one country. Although the court has overturned the life-time decision against 28 of the athletes (and 15 who did try to compete after the overturning did not get to), I hope that they are able to still feel the pride that the others competing experienced for their country. I am very excited for the games and know they will do well as individual athletes and citizens of the world, regardless of the name on the flag.
The Politics of Cheating.
The opening ceremonies in Pyeongchang were absolutely spectacular. The celebration of Korean history and culture combined with a breathtaking display of lights, music, and choreography was enough to entertain for 3 hours – no small feat. Supposedly the spectacle had been in planning for 2 whole years, and it certainly showed. All of it felt perfectly punctuated by the coming together of the DPRK and ROK teams to form a unified Korea team, complete with integrated women’s hockey team and all. The Olympics have always been about international politics – Jesse Owens running in Berlin in 1336, the US boycotting the competition in 1980, and the USSR doing the same in ’84. The ideally friendly international rivalry and camaraderie shown by the participants in these ceremonies is by a wide margin my favorite part, and is the reason I follow the Olympic games every other year. With this in mind, the controversy surrounding Russia’s barring from the games takes on a new color.
The International Olympics Committee, after reviewing drug tests from Russian athletes from the Sochi and London games, determined that a wide conspiracy of doping, led by the Russian government, was in effect. The response was to fully bar Russia from the games, and allow athletes from Russia to compete as “Olympic athletes from Russia.” These athletes wear grey, the Olympic flag, and if they win gold, the Olympic anthem will play. Any mention of Russia as a sovereign state has been cut out. Russia is not a small power, and there’s a lot to be said for how performance at the Olympics can be a show of power. Barring Russia from participating is a political statement whether the IOC thinks it is or not. And, when Thomas Bach gave his speech, calling for the athletes to not cheat, and participate in the spirit of the sport, the statement was made even further. Russia has been given the moral equivalent of a mild UN sanction for cheating in a sporting event, which is something I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand it is only a sport – should Russia receive what amounts to political punishment for cheating in a sport? But then, the punishment fits the crime. And, furthermore, the link of the Russian government to the conspiracy also seems to justify political action. Either way, the statements and actions from the IOC are as much a condemnation of cheating as they are a mild attack on the Kremlin. I look forward to seeing what comes of the moves towards a unified Korea movement, as well as any other, unexpected international dealings that come out of this years games.
Who Judges the Judge?
My high school mock trial team had a running joke that being a judge was the best job in the world because you got to sit in a comfy chair all day while everyone treats you like a god. Scott Miller’s talk really showed that we were probably overstating it. Over the course of his talk, Scott Miller really showed that having that kind of power over people and the ability to set precedents like People v. Brukner is something that should never be taken lightly. It’s a position that can have really strong restorative power, and it’s important to take responsibility in that. I enjoyed his discussion of restorative justice and the notation of the importance of not just punishing for the sake of punishing in the case of nonviolent crimes.
I slightly disagree with his idea that all of our domestic problems could be solved by considering health care and education a human right and acting accordingly (i.e. making addressing both of these issues a priority) I agree that health care and education are a human right, and that not considering them as such causes many problems in United States. However, I feel this outlook ignores more basic problems. Americans still face lack of affordable and safe housing, food insecurity and a growing income disparity. These problems are more immediate concerns. People’s right to a living wage, a safe place to live, and food is more necessary. It can be said that housing and food insecurity are part of health care, but I think it’s important to consider them initially as steps of prevention. The fact that people don’t have clean access to clean water, food, and housing in this country is a bigger problem. I agreed with his point about the needless focus on military spending and cases where funding military operations was given almost unquestionably while citizens go bankrupt trying to pay for necessary medical treatment without private insurance. Near the end, he added a point about us being lucky to live in a time of upheaval that could change the course of history. I don’t feel very lucky.
These complaints are mostly nitpicks. I was really glad to have the opportunity to hear from him about his experiences. I missed the meeting last semester because of scheduling conflicts, so I was really glad to be able to go this semester.
Humanizing the Dehumanized
After enjoying his first Rose Cafe last semester, I was very excited to hear that Judge Scott Miller was going to be joining us again for another interesting and behind the scenes conversation about what it was like to be a judge. I had enjoyed his friendly and charismatic way of speaking as well as his frankness when speaking about serious cases and decisions he had come across in his life. This time, just as last time, Judge Miller did not fail to engage his entire audience.
What I most enjoyed hearing him speak about was his view of those who commit crimes, particularly when giving sentences. His value in humanizing the “criminal” is very important to him, so much so that he never uses the word to describe those who have committed a crime. I never thought I’d be hearing this from a judge considering the amount of evil and crime they have to face on a daily basis. This viewpoint from someone as experienced as Judge Miller definitely resonated with me and left an impact.
It is sad, but very true indeed, that our conception of the “criminal” has been horribly warped from reality by the media and Hollywood. I believe the majority of people see someone who commits any sort of small crime for their worst act instead of the sum of who they are, myself included. I particularly enjoyed Judge Miller’s insight on this because it directly challenged the popular notion of life being a battle of good vs. evil. It’s difficult to challenge this worldview not only because of the deep-rooted media culture we have, but also because it is the easiest position to take when thinking about someone that has committed a crime. Taking this position is a sort of comfort to our conscious for the guilt we may feel for locking someone up for longer than they deserve; the moment we humanize them, the moment the weight of their life becomes heavier in our minds.
I think steps can be taken to humanize a person that has been denied the proper amount of compassion. In particular, the concept of what it means to be a “criminal” can be attacked and changed, trying to steer it away from defining someone who has been convicted of a crime once or a victim of their circumstance. Instead of assigning long sentences for these people, we should focus on rehabilitating them to become working members of society. However, there are crimes so heinous that allowing those who committed them to roam the streets as a normal individual would be more dangerous for our society than if they were to be imprisoned, but the reality is that these criminals (because I would argue they really are criminals in this case) are a minority of those placed in jail.
The Pendulum Swings in Two Directions
Tonight I attended the Rose Cafe talk with Judge Scott Miller. It was the second time I has the pleasure of attending an event that featured him. As someone who plans on attending law school in the hopes of becoming a judge, his insight into jurisprudence has been pivotal in the formation of my own. Even when discussion lends itself to more mundane topics such as first impressions and simple humanity, the talk never seems to dull.
I find it funny that every judge I have the opportunity to meet has been so laid back and progressive. They all seem like people I would love to have as friends, and Judge Miller is no exception. I interned with the Honorable Judge Stuart Rice, and he held the same air of confidence that engages his audience and makes them want to know more. One of my college advisors back at home, Judge Kevin Yourman, also has such a way with words. It was great to be in the presence of someone so similar to two key influences in my own decision to pursue law.
I wish we had more time to speak with him. I had so many questions to ask: his opinion on the privatization of institutions some think should remain public, his opinion on both the legality and morality of drone strikes in the middle east, if he thinks rehabilitation of those prosecuted is always feasible, how he partitions his personal bias from his ruling when they are so tangential… The list of things to ask seems to go on forever.
I think the most influential part of his talk this time was when discussing the judge who seemed to deride Larry Nassar when sentencing him to over 100 years in prison. While I relate with the sentiment of the presiding judge, I completely agree with Judge Miller that it was out of turn for her to speak her prejudices. When thinking of this case, the idiom “justice is blind” comes to mind. Besides following precedence in an effort to standardize the judicial system, a judge’s job is to listen to a case while simultaneously ruling without personal bias clouding their decision; this judge seemed to disregard her obligation to impartiality.
Judge Miller also brought up the interesting concept that the power dynamic in the courtroom mandates more maturity from the judge than the defendant. I hadn’t considered this, but his point is valid. As an authority, it is again the judge’s responsibility to carry herself with poise.
However, when Judge Miller expressed that universal healthcare and education were the two most pointed issues to be solved, I am not too sure if I agree. I think these two issues are very shallow compared to the underlying causes of this type of social stratification. I think back to Kimberle Crenshaw’s view on intersectionality: when we raise the standards for those at the bottom of the social totem pole, we inherently raises those also socially disadvantaged with them. And for Crenshaw, they were black women. Once we tackle the underlying issue of racism, sexism, and the subsequent results – such as inaccessible healthcare and below par education- then we will be one step closer to an America with equity. But I can appreciate where Judge Miller’s views come into play; I think we just have reverse approaches.
Similar to the last Rose Cafe with Judge Miller, he ended with a little pep talk about looking to the future, how the pendulum swings in favor of progress. It was a touching moment, and the call to action really made me want to make something matter. I’m not too sure what; just anything, I suppose: the privilege I’ve been afforded to go to Cornell, the diversity of the community around me, the opportunity to be where I am today. I just want it to matter. But if the the swing of the pendulum is now in our favor, when will it swing back to the other side?
Reflection on universal healthcare and education
This week at Rose Cafe Judge Miller brought up a very interesting point about fixing a lot of problems in our society. In order to attempt to tackle over issues we must first ensure universal healthcare and a quality education for everyone as a basic right. Universal healthcare is quite a controversial topic but I think a lot of problems would be solved by introducing universal healthcare. I think a lot of times people fail to seek preventative care and treatment because healthcare under a system of private insurance is expensive and often times they can’t afford it. This seems to be a political debate of a lot of interest and I personally am not very well versed in healthcare however it do think it is not a privilege it’s a right. Now onto the point on education. I know this a topic of importance to most of you considering you are students at an ivy league university (yes, I know people think we are a fake ivy). You didn’t start out here though. You started out in elementary school then went to middle school and then high school. (At least I did, I suppose that depends on where you grew up). Personally I attended public school and received a great education. However, some people aren’t that lucky when it comes to going to public school. Their schools are underfunded and overcrowded. They are receive a lower quality education because of where they live. They receive often times a subpar education because they are economically disadvantaged. Everyone should have the right to a quality education. The composition of Cornell would be completely different if everyone who went to public school was afforded the same education. The majority of Cornell wouldn’t be from Westchester, Long Island or New Jersey. (There would still be a high percentage probably because legacy kids but it would hopefully be slightly more diverse.) I think fixing healthcare and our education system are expensive but worthwhile investments.
(also side note yes i realize this is uncategorized but there is no tag for this event yet)
An American Epidemic
Elisabeth Rosenthal is the author of An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It. A medical doctor, she currently serves as the editor-in-chief of Kaiser Health News (KHN) in 2016, the independent foundation-funded reporting project focusing on health and health policy news. Some of her accomplishments: She spent 22 years as a correspondent at the New York Times, where she covered a variety of beats from healthcare to the environment to reporter in the Beijing bureau, when in China she covered SARs, bird flu and the emergence of HIV/AIDS in rural areas, she is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School, and briefly practiced medicine in a New York City emergency room before turning to a profession to journalism.
Dr. Rosenthal talked about the state of medical care in the United States in which visits to hospitals are billed at hundreds of dollars. This is because now consumerism has mixed with the medical industry. She elaborates on how drugs that were inexpensive are now sky-rocketing in prices. For example, antibiotics in the 90s used to be about $10. In 2007, these same antibiotics cost about $100. In the United States, medical bills are the #1 cause of bankruptcy.
In our contemporary society, people are deprived of quality medical care due to circumstances that are hard for them to control. These circumstances such as socioeconomic status, resources, and access to healthcare leave a lot of the population’s health in jeopardy. However, when people are able to get to healthcare facilities especially super utilizers they may not be able to afford their medical bills. Super utilizers follow the 5-50 rule which means that even though they are 5% of the population accounting for 50% of the medical costs of the population in the United States. There should be an alternative method to help not only these people but for everyone else deprived of healthcare. I guess it’s up to our generation.
“Modernism”, “Primitivism”, and the Portrayal of Stereotypes
In this discussion of the “modern” and “primitive”, modern was used in the sense of “modernist” – as in the cultural movement from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. We watched a video of the Tiller Girls, and we looked at a painting of a railroad crossing the ocean. We identified characteristics of “modernism” as uniformity, linearity, patterns, and order. Progress, conquering the natural, expanding. We then looked at how modernism tends to treat “primitivism” by way of colonial attitudes and endless collecting and categorizing of “primitive” artifacts, of people, and of cultures. However, some of the trends in current American culture seem to be quite different from those of the early 1900s. Progress remains important, but for instance we seem to value individualism and customizable experiences as well as returning to an idea of the natural. I would be interested in looking at how the intersection of the “modernist” and the “primitive” compares to the intersection of the “current” and the “primitive”.
We then discussed portrayals of and attitudes towards the “primitive” in modern works. One topic we addressed by way of Josephine Baker’s “Banana Dance” and the cabaret scene Nella Larson’s novel Quicksand was the idea of performing an image belonging to “your” people or participating in a culture that is yours (either personally or ancestrally), versus performing a stereotype.
Though not in the same contexts of black identity or African colonial attitudes, this is an idea that I run into a lot as a second generation American of varied ancestry. I want, on some level, to participate in my cultural heritage, but I don’t feel as though I can do that properly because I’m so far removed from it. The things that I know about “my” cultures are really no more detailed or nuanced than what my American cultural knowledge tells me – and those things tend to be vastly oversimplified at best and straight up stereotypes at worst.
For instance, the fragments of Filipino culture that I remember from when I was a kid are very few and very hazy. I remember learning a dance with castanets, I remember a song about planting rice, I remember pancit and some kind of caramel candy. I am quite confident that if I tried to recreate any of those things, the result would be at least a little offensive to actual Filipino people. (Honestly, I think the “planting rice” thing might have been a joke, but I don’t know…) When I was in middle school, my (white) mother insisted that I learn Tagalog because “it’s important not to lose things like that”. She bought me a Rosetta Stone course, which I practiced every day because I actually rather liked the idea of forming a connection with my family’s past, and particularly with my grandmother. A few months later we learned that my grandmother’s mother tongue wasn’t Tagalog at all, but another regional language.
This is an incredibly common theme that I’ve seen among my friends, many of whom are two or three generations removed from a non-US heritage. We cling to things like cookie recipes and individual words of a language and meticulous calculation of fractions of ethnicities. We proudly claim to be Polish, Irish, Brazilian, Japanese, Greek… And then we try to go back and learn the dances and foods and languages that we think must have been important to our families. We don’t have much personal connection to that history, though, so I at least am suspicious that we make our decisions about what we learn and how we portray it unfortunately based largely on stereotypes, simply because we don’t know any better. Which would then only reinforce stereotypes. I don’t feel like I have the right to portray or to claim any of my heritages, and in fact it seems like it might be detrimental to more authentic communities for me to try to do so. But what’s the alternative? To sever ties with family history, and completely erase any semblance of inherited cultural identity? I don’t know.
Food Without Farms
A common theme among my Rose Scholars experiences seems to be that, from garlic to palm oil to grape vines to flowers in the botanical gardens, I don’t know anything about plants. I had heard of hydroponics and I knew vaguely what the idea was, but I had no clue how it worked or what a system might look like. So, I was thrilled to be able to attend Erica Hernandez’ talk where she outlined the major different kinds of hydroponic systems, explained how they work, addressed their pros and cons, and talked about the major advantages and challenge with hydroponics in general.
I did have one major question that I couldn’t quite put my finger on during the talk: I know it is possible to drown plants. I know this because I killed three successive succulents last year with overenthusiastic watering. If too high a moisture content in soil can be enough to murder a plant, then how is it possible to grow a plant just water? Are there only certain plants that can be grown hydroponically? Is it just impossible to drown lettuce?
According to the internet, the difference is the oxygen exposure of the roots. Plants need to take in oxygen through their roots in addition to their leaves, and in soil, they are exposed to plenty of small pockets of air. If you overwater, these pockets become waterlogged with stagnant water. The plant doesn’t drown so much as suffocate. In a hydroponics system though, the water is aerated and constantly refreshed so that the plant can take oxygen from the water.
I’ve heard a whole lot of talk about hydroponics with regard to the looming global food crisis and environmental crisis. Hydroponics could represent the future of human food production for an exploding population, in that it could be used in establishing indoor farms to grow crops without worrying about space or transportation. It was also pointed out in the talk that hydroponics operations can run year-round, as the plants are sheltered from cold and bad weather in a carefully temperature-controlled indoors facility. Many of the more passive systems also require very little labor. So why are we not growing all of our food with urban hydroponics programs already?
The sticking point, or at least one of them, is apparently the same as with many futuristic solutions: energy. Careful temperature and environment control mean that it’s difficult for large-scale hydroponics systems to be energy efficient. This makes them neither cost effective nor environmentally friendly. There is also the issue of light — you can light a smaller setup with natural sunlight, but this isn’t possible for stacked vertical farming systems (as I’ve heard touted as a solution to saving land space and growing in cities). In that kind of system, you would have to use artificial light, which only makes the operation even more energy-intensive. In fact, even if a farm isn’t hydroponic, lighting and environment control would be a problem for any indoor farming venture. It looks like for now at least, we’ll have to look elsewhere for viable solutions to food production issues. However, I hope I’ll be around to see what the food production landscape looks like in 50 years, and what kind of role hydroponics plays.
Stress Management
I attended the dinner talk regarding stress where the GRF and other students discussed how they handle stress at Cornell. Because stress is an inevitable aspect of college life, I think that this talk was much needed and especially around the time when the 2nd round of prelims were starting! In my opinion, this was a very effective conversation because its informal nature allowed us to speak up and express how stress affects us on campus and how we individually deal with it. After hearing about how well certain study tips have worked for GRF Seema and other Rose Scholars (ex. chunking the study material into reasonable portions and rotating topics so you don’t get tired), I became more inspired to switch up my study techniques because they provided convincing opinions about how they have helped. In the future, I hope that I will remember to chunk my study material and use my stress to my advantage to help me complete my assignments instead of being scared of it.
Don’t Look Back
Black Mirror is one of my favorite shows and this episode in particular is my favorite one for the scenario it describes. The episode is dramatic, suspenseful and ultimately quite depressing given how the story unfolds. The most pressing question this episode asks is whether or not you would want a device that lets you rewatch any past experience. Although privacy and cost are certainly important, my decision is independent of those two factors. Firstly, I feel it is better to stay focused on the present and not look back in the past or look too far ahead into the future. Thus, at first I was inclined to reject such a future with said devices. Moreover, as the story progresses, we find out that Liam’s wife had an affair and he is also most likely not the father. Though the grain helps him find the truth, he drives away his wife and child and is left by himself. At the end, he sees the grain as a tool that has caused more harm than good. Thus, I would most likely reject the grain as well. While the truth is important, having such a device could lead to one overthinking and creating suspicions that may or may not be true. One of Liam’s main gripes is that Fi looks at Jonas in a very affectionate way and she doesn’t look at him the same way. However, we see at the end that she did look at him in a loving way but in his state of anger and determination to find out the truth, he glossed over the fact that their relationship was more concrete than he thought it was.
The episode is extremely well made with many nuances and complexities and is one that will have anyone watching questioning what they would have done in that situation.
Fire and Desire
Although the movie debuted in 1997, a lot of the issues and topics that the movie explored are extremely prevalent in todays society, namely gender roles and equality. Right from the beginning, we are exposed to the stark differences between men and women in Indian society. Essentially, men are the dominant figures and women must be obedient and do the man’s bidding and finally, provide them with a child. Although there has been a lot of progress in the field of gender equality in India, it is still far from perfect. Women’s opinions are still often disregarded and they are still seen to be slightly inferior to men. Moreover, India is still far behind in establishing fair and equal rights for the LGBTQ community and this film had a very powerful message about two women exploring their sexualities in a far from ideal place. This idea of going against the grain and challenging societal norms reminded me a lot of Dead Poets Society as the protagonists in that story also express themselves in a way that their community didn’t see fit.
A New Way to Start
Coming from an Indian family, yoga has always been something that has been around me. All my relatives partake in yoga on a fairly consistent basis and recently, many of my friends have as well. However, I was always skeptical of the benefits of yoga and thought it didn’t have any real significant intrinsic benefits. Nevertheless, I decided to come to the event regardless just to try it again and see if there would be any difference. Given that prelims were approaching I was naturally feeling a little stressed but after doing yoga for an hour, I felt more relaxed and rejuvenated. For the rest of the day, I was able to work more efficiently rather than normally getting distracted. Since then, I have made a conscious effort to take a small amount of time in the morning and do a little bit of yoga. Doing so has lowered my stress and I feel refreshed both physically and mentally each day.
Beyond the Classroom
Right from the beginning of the movie we can see that the school the protagonists attend is an elite yet rigid prep school. Students have very little choice when determining classes and all follow similar career paths whether it be medicine, law, business, etc. There is little room for one to express themselves individually and it is only after taking the poetry class with Mr. Keating do they slowly but surely begin to come out of their shells. By organizing the “Dead Poet’s Society” and meeting in their secret cave at night, the protagonists are able to overcome the rigid shackles placed upon them. Moreover, while they think they are just discussing poetry, Keating’s unconventional lectures show that poetry is actually teaching them about life itself. Rather than learning about topics like meter and evaluating a poem solely based on its perfection and impact, the group learns how poetry can teach someone to fully express themselves.
I find this to be certainly true as after I took a literature course in high school and during my freshman year, I found that I learned a lot of values that could be applied to my life directly. Moreover, I believe that it is important to study poetry and the humanities as a means to provide balance and keep life in perspective. I certainly have grown as an individual as a result of my extra emphasis on the humanities.
Unlocking your genome
The documentary, “Cracking your Genetic Code”, gave a fairly comprehensive look into the world of DNA sequencing and issues related with this practice. Often times, when we think of genome sequencing, the movie GATTACA comes to mind which has led many to believe that we can tailor individuals to have certain characteristics. Yet, this is far from the truth as our understanding of how genes operate is still not complete and instead we can only give probabilistic estimates. However, the most important question this documentary provoked was one that I struggled with for a couple days, “Do you want you genomes sequenced?” The examples provided in the documentary showed both sides of the dilemma. On one hand, through genome sequencing, doctors and researchers are able to gather even more information. On the other hand, many individuals don’t want their genomes sequenced in the hopes of not finding they have a high risk of a life altering disease. Moreover, many are concerned about the confidentiality of the results of their personal genome and I think this the most pressing dilemma. If employers have access to these results and can make hiring decisions based off them, many will be deterred from getting their genome sequenced. Thus, as startups become more sophisticated and sequencing becomes more common, we have to work together to create safe laws and guidelines to ensure confidentiality.
Personally, I feel that genome sequencing should become common practice in the coming years as the benefits far outweigh the costs. Allowing doctors to gain more data will help further advance medicine and create a healthier future for all.
Jack drove up the hill, but Jill took a bus
I attended this café at least in part just because I wanted to know what a talk about “Gender and Transportation” could possibly be about. What could that possibly even mean? Gender and what kind of car you drive? It turns out that it was about something rather more interesting than that – transportation availability and movement patterns of people in a city. This is related to gender because patterns and availability are very different between men and women, especially places like India where traditional gender roles are stricter.
The pattern differences are definitely something that I can recognize in how the families I interacted with as child worked. My dad always drove straight out to Denver to work in the morning, and then straight back at the end of the day. Linear patterns associated with work. My mom worked as well, but she also drove me to school and music lessons, bought food, went to the bank, came home to let the dog out, etc. Much more complex patterns of travel due to being responsible for the children, pets, and household matters. Some of my earliest memories are of driving around town with my mom, but it wasn’t until this talk that I thought to look for patterns in how she moved.
Both of my parents, however, had cars. This is often not the case in the developing world, which leads to inequality in who had gets to use the car – generally the man of the household. Women in places like India instead must often build a daily transportation system that involves buses, trains, walking, etc. A car, for them, would represent ultimate freedom of movement. This was an eye-opening realization for me, because I personally tend to view a car as a restriction. It’s a responsibility. It’s a cost. You have to buy it, buy gas, pay to park it everywhere, pay for upkeep and repairs, and then also spend time on all of those things. For me, true independence would be freedom of movement without having to lug around a very expensive 2-ton hunk of metal every time I want to go to buy groceries. One of my life goals is to eventually live somewhere where I don’t need a car – somewhere where I can get around using a sensible and reliable system of subways and trains and the occasional Uber. I want to do away with my car because I know I can live in a place that has a reliable and safe system of public transport, but in a place that doesn’t have such a system a car is infinitely desirable over public methods.
Overall the most significant thing that I got out of this café was a shift in how I think about cities. I’ve spent my entire life interacting with my city’s parks, roads, buses, rec-centers, etc. Yet somehow, I’ve always thought of a city as a place one lives, and it has never before occurred to me to think of a city as something that one “uses”. A city is not just a “where” it’s also a “what”. A city is not just organically grown, but also in many ways deliberately designed and carefully constructed. It’s fascinating to imagine a city not just as a place with a lot of buildings, but as a set of tools that people use and the pathways through which people flow to reach them.
In addition, I’ve never really conceptualized transportation as a major responsibility of government before. I suspect this is at least in part due to the fact that unlike in the developing world, everyone I know always had a private car. Still though, I took the public bus to school every single day for four years and somehow it never really sank in that “public” meant “local-government run”. This might not change how I interact with TCAT too much, but it does change my perspective on local government as compared to the state and federal government.
In politically fraught times like 2017, something I hear over and over again is that if you want to be politically active you have to start with participating in and interacting with your local government. Yet, I’ve never really seen the point in doing so because what does a city government even do, especially in a small city like my hometown? Plant trees in parks? Fill pot-holes? Things that must be done, sure, but how could those be in any way relevant to the divisive national issues that I actually care about? This café has caused me think harder about what important functions city government has that I might not really have properly connected to it before. Local government has responsibilities with regard to transportation and housing availability, environmental issues in transportation and regulation of public spaces, public education, water and power access, and regulating local presences of behemoth firms like telecoms. I really ought to start paying attention to my county election ballots.
The Modern Primitive
As someone who is not exactly interested in English as a subject, Sam’s talk on the modern primitive was riveting. I really liked how his scope focused on race and gender. He started out by first explaining what each term meant separately. He used images like a train crossing the sea to represent modernity while showing a picture of white colonizers measuring black children for the primitive. It was a very stark juxtaposition.
He then explained how his area of study looked at the intersection of the two, and how different areas of like and art reflected both the primitive and the modern. Some of the things he showed us was the Tiller Girls and Josephine Baker. They were revolutionary because they broke what was then social norms. It was very interesting to see how people perceived these women after the performances.
Sam also talked about how museums affect our perception of the primitive. Sam described how everything we get to put in a museum is taken from someone else for our gain. I think it is also very interesting how museums creates this divide between the viewers and the viewed. It could also be dangerous by thinking that the viewed are no longer a part of society and rather are part of the past.
As a racial minority at Cornell, I kind of know what it feels like to be talked about as if you aren’t there, especially in classes that have to do with race and American history. The way we learn about it makes it seem like a thing o the past, but sometimes people forget to bing up current events that are still a large part of society today,
I also thought the LGBT+ museum he showed us a video of near the end was really cool. It may be somewhere I would like to visit.
Professor Schmidt’s Talk
I attended the Rose Cafe with Professor Schmidt in which he talked about civil development and planning. He began to talk about his field of study by describing what it was. He also explained how even though time has passed, we still are looking for answers to the big questions such as poverty.
The talk was really fun because we got to learn about Professor Schmidt as well as our fellow Rose Scholars. He went around in a circle asking us what kind of area we grew up in and what type of resources we had there. A lot of kids were from suburban areas, and only a couple were from urban and rural. We talked about our access to things such as recreation centers and schools. We also talked about how we got around town: lots of us used cars daily regardless of there being public transportation.
One of the things we also focused on was climate change and how civil engineers are trying to find ways to save the environment while maintaining the ways we live. One of the big ways to do this is to move towards communal communities because spaces are shared rather than individualistic. For example, living at Cornell makes a lot of things communal. We share laundry spaces and dinning halls. This saves our carbon footprint while also allowing us to connect with other people around us, something we do not always do now.
I was kind of sad when the talk ended. Professor Schmidt was probably my favorite person to come to Rose Cafe this semester. He was really chill and was interested in who we were as students. Although he seemed a bit shy, he took the time to learn our names and where we were from. And it was interesting to know how he connected our origins with his study field. I hope he comes back soon because he was really cool to learn from.
Winter Wonderland
Last week I was lucky enough to attend the creative Flora Rose House event of ice skating. I was unaware that it was at all possible for us as students to skate at the ice rink. I have not skated in quite a while and was excited to get on the ice. It is easy to forget the feeling of not being in control while stepping on ice. When I was younger I was in figure skating classes and loved it until I fell and broke my ankle and never went back. After that my only other experience has been in Chicago’s millenium park. Therefore, skating in the rink was different than what I am used to. Overall, it is fun to be able to engage in a winter activity that many of us do not get to do on a regular basis. I will make sure to go ice skating after winter break and next year with my friends. I am happy that I got the experience as well as know that this a possible activity for winter.
Dinner with Ruth
After the Rose CafeI attended in which Ruth talked about her life in Malawi and her work on the environment, I went to have dinner with her. I was hoping to learn more about her personally and her experiences in education at Cornell. It was also the first dinner talk I attended; we all met up at Rose dinning hall and got our food. Then we went up to the Rose Seminar room to talk to Ruth in a quieter environment than the dinning room.
We started the talk off by introducing ourselves again to Ruth, and Ruth reintroduced herself and her friend who also does work at Cornell. We talked about her life in Malawi and how she has been doing in Ithaca. She has not been able to go many places, but she said that she enjoyed everywhere she had gone. She mentioned how different it is from her home.
Soem other students brought up how different it is to experience global climate change in the US than in Malawi. For example, people in Malawi do not have to ability to deny climate change because they see it and experience it first hand. When crops do not grow, people go hungry. And when there are floods, people are injured.
However, in the US, we are so industrialized we are often sheltered from nature. Our surplus in food allows us to eat food regardless of rainfall. And when temperatures go up or down, we have air conditioning and heaters. It is much easier to deny climate change when you’re sheltered from it.
Also, it was really funny and cute to see the kids playing with each other. When Ruth panicked because the little boy was locked in the cabinet was actually precious. I think because she is a mother, she is more inclined to make sure kids are safe. Even though the kid was not in danger, her concern was heartwarming, and the way she made sure he had enough air was cute.
Jack and Jill
GRF Seema talked about urban development and transportation in India. Her focus is on how gender and transportation interact, affecting the lives of citizens in India and how they get around. In India, there is not enough public transportation provided to get everyone where they need to go, so informal modes began to pop up. This includes personal cars driving people around. When this happens, the modes of transportation get very crowded and dangerous to ride at times.
We also talked about sexual harassment women experience on public transport. The dilemma of the group was whether or not quick bandaid files would help ward off sexual abuse. For example, how effective would it be to offer women their own transport cars on things like busses and subways? Once they leave the car, the women would be subject to the sexual harassment all the same. Would these precautions have an adverse affect, making it unsafe for women to go on cars that aren’t gender exclusive?
I think that we need both these quick fixes as well as long term policy to stave off sexual harassment. One student also brought up education: teaching men why it is wrong and how their action affect women would be a great step.
Though it was hard to follow Seema’s talk at the beginning, the connection between gender and transport was established quickly. Seema’s talk was very interesting becauseI found a lot of parallels between her talk about India and the United States. I both places women have to be wary of sexual harassment even though it is usually men who perpetrate it. However, I think the public transportation system in the US is a little bit more efficient than in India.
Transfer Talk
At this talk, we discussed transferring to Cornell and how the experience had been treating us so far. As a Junior transfer student, I quickly noticed that I was one of the very few. All the transfer students that I had met were Sophomores and it made me increasingly worried when I realized I didn’t have much time left compared to my friends. However, at this talk, we were able to hear from SA Andrew who was also a junior transfer last year. Hearing about his experience with adjusting academically and socially made me feel more at ease about my transfer process. He assured us that the competitive spirit at Cornell will always be present, but we will quickly learn to manage all aspects of the school.
In addition to this, we were able to hear from Dr. Hill about his opinion on everything from academics to extracurricular activities and strategic networking. He provided the perspective of a potential employer or admissions officer and explained that a perfect GPA and extracurricular is not always the most important part. He shared that he was never a straight-A student, but what he excelled at was his ability to create meaningful relationships and how that ultimately catapulted his career in academia into the direction he wanted. This talk made me realign my priorities and ever since I had made sure to remain conscious of what I need to do to reach my goals.
Fun winter activity!
Last week I had the pleasure of going ice skating with fellow Rose scholars! I was excited when I learned about this opportunity because I haven’t been as physically active as I would have liked this semester (besides walking up and down the slope). I hadn’t gone ice skating in years, so stepping onto the ice was a bit tricky at first. However, after a couple minutes of warming up muscle memory kicked in and I was able to let go of the wall and have a good time with friends. I was with a friend who was visiting from UNC Chapel Hill and he was impressed by how many fun things there were to do on actual campus. I wasn’t aware that the skating rink had special nights were students could go ice skating so I took a note of that in case my friends and I are looking for something to do next semester. There are so many things that Cornell offers that students don’t know about and I have a feeling the ice rink would be even more packed if more people knew about it! Overall, I’m glad I went skating and got my mind off of the daunting thought of finals.
The Symbolism in the Blues Brothers
One aspect I noticed of the Blues brother was that its plot was symbolic of the impacts that blues had on society. First, Blues was becoming more popular than and was edging out country music, which is mirrored by how the Good Ole Boys were chasing after the Blues Brothers. In addition, the Blues Brothers were able to win over a southern crowd who were fans of country music. Similarly, the Blues Brothers were being pursued by the Nazis. Blues was developed and performed mainly by African American musicians. African American musicians were gaining fame and affluence due to the Blues they performed, and this of course incurred a racist backlash, with many calling Blues “the devil’s music”, which is embodied by the armed Nazis that try to kill the Blues Brothers. A scene that reinforces this was when the Blues Brothers tried to run over the Nazis, causing them to jump off the bridge. It showed how Blues was able to overcome to racist barriers in its way and become very popular.
The Value of Poetry
In Dead Poet’s Society, one theme that really struck me was the the purpose of poetry. In the movie, Mr. Keeting stated that humans write poetry because they need to do so, just as they need to eat breathe. The boys’ various individual journeys through the movie exemplify this. For example, when Neil began reading and composing poetry, he found his love for acting and decided to pursue it- he tried out for the play and got the leading role. Also, after Neil and his father fight over his decision to act in a play, when Neil sees his father enter the auditorium, he directs his final lines in the play to his father: “Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends.” In saying these lines to his father, Neil conveys how he wants to settle his differences with his father. Similarly, Knox wrote a love poem to Chris to explain to her how much he loved her. In both of these situations, poetry provided these boys with a way of navigating and properly expressing their emotions- in other words, they needed poetry to live their lives to the fullest.
On a personal note, I’m a very hard score science kind of guy. I never paid too much attention in English class and I never really appreciated the importance of literature and poetry. To me, literature was mainly just an easy A for my GPA or a freshman writing seminar that I needed to take. But this movie was a powerful reminder of why literature is so significant- we as humans need poetry to understand ourselves and the world around us. I began to recognize all the different ways in which poetry had impacted me. The nursery rhymes or the Dr. Seuss books I grew up with are all forms of poetry. The Ramayana, an ancient Hindu text that has profoundly impacted me, is poetry. The College Dropout by Kanye West is also a form of poetry.
The Fire of Love
Fire highlights a painful reality that many women in India must face. As Swamiji teaches in the movie, love is a desire that must be suppressed and that the only purpose of sexual desire is to procreate. Women are treated as objects, whose purpose is to have children and tend to the house. It is why Sita slaves away in the kitchen all day and why Radha feels guilty for not being able to bear kids. This idea is still prevalent in India to a great degree. Having spoken with my parents, both of whom grew up in India, many of their friends and relatives were often urged to get married and have kids as soon as possible and were not encouraged to pursue a career or a relationship out of love. The fact that my mom married when she was 28 irked a lot of her relatives in India, who believed she was too old to get married and should have started having kids earlier.
The film also had an uplifting message of empowerment. Radha and Sita, who were reduced by their husbands to objects, explored their sexualities and explored love. I thought this message of experiencing love however you see fit and not conforming to traditional or societal expectations was very inspiring.
The Benefits of Yoga
I don’t normally do yoga, and I’ve only done yoga a couple times before partaking in this event, but I had heard so much about the benefits of yoga. My parents, who grew up in India and regularly did yoga, and my friends back home who go to Corepower every week all frequently urged me to do yoga, so I decided to try it out. And it was awesome. The actual experience of doing yoga was painful and difficult. I’m not flexible, so doing every pose- from the warrior positions to the lotus position, was extremely painful. But by the end of the event, when I was doing the Shavasana pose, I felt very calm. My mind was still and at peace and I felt the benefits of yoga that all my friends had told me about.
Such a calming experience prompted me to look into why yoga was so beneficial to so many people. In sanskrit, yoga means “union”. This helped me make sense of why yoga was such a calming experience. Lots of times when I study, I feel very restless. My mind and my body are in two different places, and that makes it a lot harder to study. My head and my body are in two different places, and it makes me much less calm and my mind much more chaotic. However, through yoga I felt much different. Yoga forced me to do difficult poses that strained my body and had me focus on my breath while doing each pose. Through doing this, it helped establish a union between my body and mind, which was why I felt so calm.
Pondering Relationships at Cornell
During this event, we discussed romantic love, both generally and specifically at Cornell. It was a very interesting and thought-provoking experience. I am currently in a relationship, but I never really took the time to reflect on my relationship and compare it to other relationships that my peers are in. Personally, after hearing other people talk about their relationships, I felt grateful to be in the relationship I am in. After hearing someone discuss the challenges of a long distance relationship with her boyfriend, I felt very fortunate that my girlfriend goes to Cornell and that I can see her every day.
At the event, we also briefly discussed divorce and how many marriages fail due to infidelity. The rate of divorce is around 50%. Such a conversation prompted me to contemplate the institution of marriage and what it represents in terms of love and a relationship. Marriage in a way represents the ultimate culmination or conclusion to a relationship. Through the act of marriage, a couple sanctifies their relationship and declares to world that their love is one that will last a lifetime. Marriage, in other words, is the highest point on the mountain- it is the final stage of a relationship, and there is no more progression in a relationship past the point of marriage. One could argue that raising a family represents a next step in a relationship, but this is inaccurate as raising a family is a whole different pursuit all together outside of the realm of marriage. Since marriage is the final stage a relationship, oftentimes this can cause problems, as individuals naturally look forward to progression in their relationships. You first like each other and you go on dates. Next, you enter into a relationship and call each other boyfriend or girlfriend. You then eventually love one another and move in together. You get engaged, and then you get married. This potential for further forward progression in your relationship introduces excitement into a relationship. But when the question of “what’s gonna happen next?” dominates a relationship, this can lead to infidelity. Couples crave this excitement of what will happen next in their relationship, so when they make it to marriage- the final stage of their relationship- there is no more excitement, so they will cheat on their partners, as these small side relationships, as trivial and meaningless as they are, fulfill their need for excitement. The remedy to this is that couples in a relationship appreciate the love they have and do not let the excitement of the progression of their relationship (or lack thereof it in marriage) detract from their relationship.
Sexuality in India
After watching this film, I was kind of shocked that my parents never mentioned this film to me. This was the film that supposedly made headlines across India and the start of the gay rights movement there. I think this is simply a misconception. My parents were born and raised in south India and there, the gay rights movement is nonexistent. Any hint of homosexuality is frowned upon by society. I think the reason that’s true is because society in India revolves around family and community. Here, the individual is celebrated and people strive to differentiate themselves among the herd. There, family is given more importance. Marriage is between families rather than individuals for instance, hence the existence of the caste system and dowry. Since homosexuality is a very individual-based characteristic, the idea is simply nonexistent in India.
My best friend is gay. When he first started coming over my house, my mom was open to him, but I could definitely sense a sort of judgement coming from my dad. Not about his homosexuality, but rather, that I am hanging out with a boy. In doing so, he completely disregarded the existence of my friend’s sexuality. I am not sure if this can ever change within an individual. It seems to be an understanding that occurs as a movement through generations rather than individuals. Of course, that is not to say that an individual cannot change his/her perception, but I think it’s extremely difficult.
I remember once, my mom asked me if gay people have genes that make them gay. It’s really surprising how there is such a lack of awareness regarding different sexualities in India.
I remember once, in India, my family was on the train and a group of transgender beggars came over and asked for money and immediately, my grandpa handed her some cash. In the area where I am from, transgender people are shunned from their families at young ages so they clan together and beg for a living. People hand them cash without thinking twice because there is a belief that transgender people are cursed and they can easily curse you too.
The cultural perceptions of homosexuality in India are crazy and it’s amazing how even my parents don’t understand it fully even though my best friend is gay. I guess with time, things will change.
An Amalgamation of Great Music, Comedy, and Action
The Blues Brother, a film I hadn’t seen before, stuck out to me in so many ways. As a jazz trombonist and enthusiast, I absolutely loved the film’s music. Encompassing a great assortment of bluesy tunes was a phenomenal supporting cast, with the likes of Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and Ray Charles. The film’s capacity to entertain, however, goes far beyond its great soundtrack. Although the plot seemed predictable at times, the comedy packed action scenes were vastly entertaining, and the directors struck a great balance between introducing new storylines and continuing/building upon previously introduced ones. An example of this is seen with the gas station scene, where Elwood Blues is chatting up Twiggy (a British culture icon in the late 20th century who made a cameo in the film). When Elwood is leaving, he tells Twiggy to show up to a particular hotel if her date doesn’t show up. The movie continued on with its plot, and during the falling action/end of the film, we get a short scene of Twiggy waiting outside that particular hotel — a short continuation of a plot line that I got a kick out of. The car chase scenes throughout the film were amongst the best I’ve ever seen — painted a nice color of action. In some scenes, the stunt crew destroyed as many as 70 cars in pile-ups!
Outside the cult-film status The Blues Brother has acclaimed in late nite cinema, it also presents a considerable amount of moral symbolisms and themes. If we take a step back and look at the grant goals of our dual protagonists, Elwood and Jake strive for something selfless, although the means through which arrive at such a goal may not be completely correct, with their quest of helping the orphanage. When Aretha Franklin sings to stop her husband from leaving the restaurant to go play in a band, we get a nod at how personal goals and goals of a relationship can often misalign. Altogether, it’s simply a great film. 10/10 would recommend.
Transportation and Gender in India
This Rose Cafe was led by graduate student, Seema, who is currently a GRF living in the Rose main house. I decided to go to this Rose House because one, I have always been interested in transportation systems in third world countries as infrastructure is necessary for a strong economy (I am an AEM major), and two, because I desperately needed one more event to complete the scholars requirement!!
The talk taught me that transport systems are born and developed to suit the needs of the public. For instance, roads are extremely congested in India and travel is difficult in cars and vehicles. So, the auto, a small three-wheel, which is in no way safe or sound, was built as a mode of transportation. Based on the level of development of a country and the socio economic/cultural differences between genders, male and female transportation needs are extremely different. For instance, in India (especially 50 years ago when there were fewer women in the workforce), men have a transport routine of going from home to work, usually in the city, regularly; whereas, women have a transportation routine of traveling from home to the market and to school to pick up students, and this pattern usually resides within the area of their residence.
Sexual harassment in public transportation is a pressing issue that women in India face on a day to day basis. Some initiatives to combat these instances have been the introduction of the pink auto and special carts on trains. The pink auto is basically an auto for women driven by women. This minimizes the risk of abuse and sexual harassment that auto drivers engage in with female passengers. Being the passenger in the backseat puts the victim in a helpless position as they are robbed of any power to fight the auto driver who has control of the wheel, and thus, the destination. Governments are also allocating the first cart on at train to be an all-female cart which further prevents abusers from violating women. I personally believe that pink autos and carts on a train are a great way to address the problem temporarily. Women are safe in the cart they are safe in the specific auto, but once they get out of that space, they are in danger of the culture of harassment that exists in India. The topic of reverse motivation came up–having the first cart being all-female will send the message that women who are not in the first cart OK harassers. While this may be true to some extent, I think the fact that a separate cart exists itself is a message to the public about the realities of sexual harassment and that it’s not ok.
Definitely, there needs to be more involvement in educating the public about the wrongs of harassment in India.
The Merge of Good and Bad
I enjoy watching movies that don’t take themselves too seriously, and I never say no to a good action movie. Described as a “musical crime comedy film,” the Blues Brothers seemingly hit everything I look for in a film. However, it fell extremely short of my hopeful expectations. I thought the movie was ludicrous throughout, completely random, and didn’t develop any redeeming characters. Though the overall plot made sense and was followed, the utter lack of normalcy in any of the scenes made me cringe. At many points, for example, during the scene at the restaurant of the band member, I found myself asking “why?” mentally. The whole movie seemed overdone and unnecessary. It reminded me of children’s movies, where the characters are often overly exaggerated.
The brothers were on a selfless, admirable quest, yet, to reach their goal they conducted themselves in thoughtless, criminal ways. The religious undertones of the film were apparent and well-done. The protagonists’ goal was portrayed as a mission from God. However, the protagonists were very flawed as past thieves. This juxtaposition between the goodness of their intention and the sinful nature of their behavior portrays the idea that we are all sinners but we can work towards redemption.
Despite my personal negative opinion of the movie, it seems to have a large cult of fans. I enjoyed the music in the film very much and thought it the only redeeming aspect of the movie. Though the Blue Brothers was not for me, I’m glad to have crossed it off my list.
A Mission From God
Prior to last Friday, I had never seen The Blues Brothers, and I didn’t generally know what it was about. A friend of mine mentioned that it was one of their favorites, and it’s been hanging out on my mental “to-watch” list, so I was excited to see it listed.
The Blues Brothers surpassed my expectations, nonexistent though they were. I think that one of my favorite parts of the film was the music. In general, I was especially surprised by the escalating over-the-top-ness. After every crash or explosion, I thought, okay, that’s it then, but a few scenes later, there would follow an even more dramatic incident.
In the end, the brothers succeed in saving the orphanage. However, the cost of their journey catches up to them, and they are immediately arrested. In the final scene, we see them playing for the other inmates with armed guards standing above the hall. As the prisoners start to get rowdy, even more guards are called in. Meanwhile, on the wall behind the stage is written in friendly bold letters, “It’s never too late to mend.” It’s interesting to see that contrast between a message about the importance of second chances and the firm oppression that has been applied.
Relaxing Through Yoga
I had the opportunity to attend a Yoga session on this Saturday. I have always wanted to try yoga, seeing other people enjoying the relaxation and inner peace it brings them. I thought it would be a nice break and relaxation from the hustle and bustle of being a student at Cornell. The Yoga certainly helped me relax and just take a much needed break. We did different stretches and poses including the downward dog. As someone who usually enjoys higher intensity workouts, yoga was a pleasant surprise. We focused on our breathing as we held different stances, instead of constantly moving. I think it’s very important to take some time out of our busy schedules to relax and take a break and yoga definitely helped me achieve that. Our instructor was also very knowledgeable and helped us correct our stances and taught us the correct form. After this class, I am definitely open to doing yoga more often as a way to loosen up and destress.
CPR Training
I am finally CPR certified! This is something I have been meaning to learn about for a while now. Before taking this class, I was a bit intimidated by the idea of learning how to save a person’s life. It still intimidates me after being certified, but now I feel more prepared if I were to face a situation where my newly learned skills would make a difference.
In this CPR class, we learned the steps one must take to correctly perform CPR. First, we learned that if a person is unconscious always call 911 FIRST. Then, check if the person is breathing, if not, you should start with compressions on the sternum. I learned that CPR should be done with 2 breaths for every 30 compressions. Practicing on the mannequin many times, seeing the chest rise as I breathed into the mannequin’s mouth, seeing the chest rise up and down as I did my compressions, certainly helped me to gain more confidence. I believe that this class was invaluable in that it taught me an extremely important skill that may be used on day. Especially as someone aspiring to work in the healthcare field, CPR is necessary and I’m glad I had the opportunity to learn and become certified myself.
Left me blue
When I first read the description for The Blues Brothers, I thought it would be the type of movie I enjoyed. It turns out, this “musical crime comedy” wasn’t what I expected. I had never heard of The Blues Brothers, and I was surprised that multiple people had voted for it to be shown. Unfortunately, this got my hopes up.
I thought this was going to be a bubbly, stage-musical-esque film, but it turns out that it wasn’t really. There were definitely parts of the film that resembled this – like the first church scene and when Aretha Franklin broke out in song, but other than that, I wasn’t a big fan of the story. Perhaps the main characters, I couldn’t call them protagonists, were too unsettling for me. Maybe it was their blatant disregard for the well-being of others and their own hygiene. Perhaps I just didn’t like seeing morally bad people getting away with all of their nonsense.
Really, the two main Blues brothers just got annoying. Their obnoxious behavior got old really quickly. There were surprise Nazis in the middle of the movie, there was a crazy ex who was creating military-grade weaponry, and they somehow were able to outrun whole police departments. I can deal with some suspension of disbelief, but overall it was just too much for me. The characters weren’t likeable enough for me to get the story. I did laugh at certain lines and generally enjoy dark humor and satire, but the Blues brothers didn’t have redeemable qualities. They didn’t care about strangers, but were also inconsiderate to their supposed friends. They misled them about their plans, they ruined one guy’s job, they ruined another’s relationship – all for $5000.
Were there definitely messages about religion, racial issues, and the militarization and brutality of American police, I personally didn’t find the film worth watching. HAD Hill mentioned that the cast consisted of a lot of big-name musicians, but I wasn’t that into the music either. Personally, I didn’t see the appeal of the movie, but there are clearly others who enjoy it, so to each their own.
Rhythm and Blues (Brothers)
I’ve always been a fan of 80s movies, and I can say that this one definitely lived up to my standards. This story follows two hip brothers that are seeking to raise money for an orphanage. Of course, this leads to an abundance of mayhem, mixed with musical performances.
After discovering that their orphanage will be shut down unless a $5,000 tax bill is settled within days. The brothers decide that they are “on a mission from God” and set out to do the only thing they know how: reunite their old blues band and perform a show to raise money.
Even though the ending results in them being able to save the orphanage, their rowdiness and crimes catch up to them, resulting in their arrest. In the final scene, we see them playing for the other inmates with armed guards standing above the hall. This bittersweet nicely ties up the film, and I highly recommend the film to anyone into 80s films!
Carrie Fisher with a Rocket Launcher
The Blues Brothers is one of the most absurd pieces of cinema I have ever seen, and yet I found myself enjoying its pure madness due to how the movie goes explicitly out of its way to not take itself too seriously. From a levitating nun, to over-the-top car chases through a mall, and (certainly my most favorite of all) Carrie Fisher randomly appearing with a rocket launcher, this movie is madness distilled into a film. Yet despite its absurdities, I believe this film overall was a celebration of jazz and the Blues and the culture (particularly Black culture) that is infused within such music. The narrative centered around two brothers embarking on a wild journey to reassemble their Blues band in the face of adversity from violent police, country singers (an embodiment of traditional southern white music), and even Nazis. Although released in 1980, these antagonizing forces have become all too relevant in very recent history, making viewing this movie quite timely. The Blues Brothers does an excellent job of noting these poignant realities while also making sure to belittle them in the most amusing of ways. Overall, this film was quite enjoyable–meriting its rather long viewing time–and it places particular emphasis on key themes that are all too relatable 37 years later.
RIP Gas Station Guy
I did not enjoy The Blues Brothers. I think I just must have an unusually low tolerance for car chases (of which this movie has so many I lost count) and the general sort of humor in the film, which I’m going to very broadly define as “foolish men with very good luck”. That said, the film does have a fairly strong conclusion. The filmmakers upped the absurdity enough that it started to work for me.
Even if you don’t like the comedy, I do think the film is worth watching for the excellent musical performances. I watched this film knowing absolutely nothing about Blues music (to the extent that I’m not sure if it’s technically correct to describe this as Blues, bear with me). My favorite would have to be Aretha Franklin singing “Think”, though all are excellent.
“The Blues Brothers” is also a film that becomes considerably more interesting upon reflection. During the film, the Blues Brothers are consistently pursued by the police. The intent of the film seems to be satirizing the militarization of the police and the use of excessive force to pursue and capture two people who, for all their causing of mayhem, are essentially harmless and goodhearted. I, however, felt the film undermined itself on this one. In one of the earlier scenes, the Blues Brothers lead the police on a car chase through a mall. The Blues Brothers also accidentally blow up a gas station, which had somebody working in it, who probably died. I think this is the reason this film did not work for me, because I am the sort of person who thinks about the probable offscreen deaths of gas station attendants with one line. All this being said, the film is making an interesting point and topical point.
The running time of this film is 132 minutes. Personally, I think it would have been better had it been shorter. The high points of this movie were the musical numbers and the more cutting satire. If anything, the plot and some of the scenes with the central protagonists got in the way of my enjoyment of Blues Brothers. That said, there is something very interesting about a film which explores themes of police militarization and Neo-Nazism by following two white men who just sort of float above it all. I did not enjoy Blues Brothers, but I think it is a film worth watching for the messages it conveys.
Funny Blues Brothers
This movie was highly enjoyable. I had never seen it before, but later talking with older family members I realized that all of them had. It’s a classic and a very funny one. The movie was hilarious and I will always have the excuse that I am on a mission from God in my back pocket. I recommend The Blues Brothers to anyone who has never seen it, because it is a wild, hilarious, and worth it ride.
Designing Urban Transportation
At last week’s Rose Café, GRF Seema Singh shared her work on the study of gender and mobility, with an emphasis on the context of the developing world. Prior to attending, I was unfamiliar with the topic, so I’m glad that I had the opportunity to learn about the process of planning urban transport and the primary challenges of crafting policies in this department. The discussion was thought-provoking, and there were interesting comments and ideas going around the room.
We mainly discussed the situation of transportation in India. As cities develop and expand, transport grows extremely overcrowded and streets become clogged and difficult to navigate. Competition between private and public transportation ensues, and problems such as noise pollution are created.
The overcrowding of transportation also has a large impact on women, partly due to their “assigned” positions in society. Generally, men are expected to work and earn money, while women take care of the house and the family. Thus, women often travel to multiple points throughout the day, for example, dropping children off at school and buying groceries, compared to simply traveling to the workplace and back. Additionally, when families own a car, it will be available to the men more often then it will be available to the women.
Sexual harassment is a large concern for women traveling throughout urban areas. Reserved spaces for women only, such as designated train cars or pink vehicles piloted by women, address safety concerns and have inspired more women to travel using city transportation. However, these safe spaces only present a short-term solution to a more complicated problem.
Gender and Transportation
This past week I attended the Rose Cafe with GRF Seema in which she spoke about her research in urban/transportation planning as it relates to gender in the developing world. Her field is not one which I know much about, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into the talk. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised by how relevant I found it to my own interests. I am personally very passionate about feminism and social justice. Hearing about the impact of gender-related issues on a domain that I hadn’t thought of previously really made me consider more the ways in which our society is designed around certain gender roles and objectives.
In the talk, she really focussed on the differing needs of men and women based on their roles within society. At first, this struck me the wrong way, as I thought that catering to these gender roles via infrastructure may serve to reaffirm them. However, it makes sense that adapting the infrastructure to allow women to leave the home could be a step in actually moving away from these gender roles over time. Building on this, Seema also spoke about solutions for violence against women on public transport, as well as some of the other challenges faced by women when it comes to transportation, specifically the creation of female-only transit options. Our discussion about these solutions was quite diverse, and it was really interesting to hear the multiple perspectives.
Overall, I really enjoyed GRF Seema’s talk, and I look forward to hearing more about the GRF’s research next semester.
Gender and Mobility
Fortunately, I had the opportunity to attend house fellow Seema Singh’s talk on gender and mobility. In full disclosure, I entered this discussion with apprehensions. This was because I thought I knew most of the issues regarding the disadvantage women are at when compared to their mail counterparts. In short, I could not have been more wrong. I learned so much throughout this talk. The one aspect of the talk I enjoyed the most is when we had an open discussion about possible solutions to the issue of sexual assault on public transportation. We learned how some women in India have vehicles and other means of transportation meant exclusively for women. This was a part of the social movement to educate all and end sexual assault. However, one person in the discussion feared/inquired that if a women is not on one of these all women means of transportations and is assaulted then wouldn’t people essentially blame the victim for knowingly not riding an all women option when it was available to her? I never thought about this argument, but I can see how some will use it in the legal field. The class seemed to agree that awareness and education is the best long-term solution. I am happy I attended this rose cafe. I only knew about the divide between men and women in regards to the United States. Prior to this talk, I never thought about the divide and how worse it may be in lesser developed countries such as India. This discussion was a mind opener and provided me with much to reflect on.
Tough Talks
Last Thursday, I attended a seminar on how we, as people of different backgrounds, create a dialogue and interact with each other. Although no other students showed up, making it difficult to have a dialogue with different perspectives, GRF Magdala, her sister, and I brought up some interesting personal experiences and some questions that can arguably not have a right or wrong answer.
One of the events that struck Cornell this past semester was the assault of of a black man by a white man in Collegetown. First of all, just the fact that this incident was described as being between a ‘black’ and ‘white’ man is significant. We are brought up to categorize people and things, and race and ethnicity plays a big role in this. Racial stereotypes are probably the most prevalent of all stereotypes. We constantly fall into this stereotypes, knowingly or unknowingly. This incident in Collegetown sparked the black lives matter movement on the Cornell campus. Then, there was some controversy over how the issue should be about how all lives matter. Now, nobody can argue with the fact that all lives do matter, but there is reason that the slogan is black lives matter. Black people are constantly oppressed by the majority white. There is not enough awareness for them, so that is why there is a black lives matter movement. However, what is interesting is that although the black lives matter movement is a movement to liberate black people from oppression, it requires the support of ALL people, no matter their race or ethnicity. Yet, the black proponents of the movement do not particularly like it when someone that is not black wants to actively partake in the movement. This seems contradictory, but in a way it makes sense as to why this mindset occurs. Essentially, nobody truly understands someone’s situation unless they are in that situation. Especially with racial matters, it becomes extremely difficult to truly empathize. This is key point that makes it hard for us as students of various backgrounds to have a dialogue with each other in which we truly feel comfortable with each other instead of being on edge about offending someone.
Ultimately, I have come to the conclusion that there really is no ‘right’ way to create a dialogue amongst diverse people. We can try to understand each other’s preferences and perspectives and how they came to be as a result of their unique background, but we can never truly empathize. This is not to say that we are forever doomed, but the truth of the matter is that there is no magical way to communicate with each other without some conflict.
Get Right Church (and let’s go home)
I was initially taken aback by the movie. Last Friday was the first time I had seen the classic film, “The Blues Brothers”. It reminded me of popular discussions regarding the appropriation of black culture. I wasn’t offended when I watched the movie. Many parts of the movie reflected my own culture and it’s history but in a comical way. I even felt as if some parts were funny but for some reason I was still uncomfortable.
There was a hyperbolic scene imitating a black baptist, pentecostal, or AME church’s worship on any given Sunday morning. There were deacons flipping like acrobats led by the very secular singer who I had recognized to be James Brown. Were non POC Rose Scholars laughing because they knew it was all an over exaggeration or is this how they will go on imaging black christian culture? Will they ever develop a serious appreciation for the history of blues and the credit due black people or will it always be a joke?
This comedic church scene frightened me because it had no context. I grew up a deaconess and minister’s daughter in a black baptist church in northwest D.C.. The gospel music moved me and still moves me today. No, clouds don’t part and sun beams don’t shine through the stain glass windows of the church when someone is introduced to my faith but I’ve seen the power of the music in more subtle ways. I want people who don’t understand to see the power of the music. I want them to understand before they laugh.
There are lots of other concerns I have that I won’t give the attention they deserve. I’m worried that the worship of my culture is unfairly compared to historically white anglo saxon worship. I went to a PWI boarding school for girls in high school. My first 2 years there, on Sundays, they only took us to all white (except for me) episcopal and catholic churches. The worship was quiet. Very quiet. I know some people like this better and connect better with God this way but it shouldn’t be viewed as the proper way to worship. I’m scared this Blues Brother’s scene and others like it will lead people to subconsciously view traditional black gospel worship as exotic, unproductive, and maybe even improper.
P.S.
I sorta like James Brown. We shouldn’t tell my parents because they made me skip his songs on old soul Christmas C.D.s. They don’t like how James Brown’s Christmas songs distract from the true meaning of Christmas. I wonder how they’d feel about him being depicted as a pastor.
Communicating Climate Change
At last week’s table talk, we discussed We Rise: The Earth Guardians Guide to Building a Movement that Restores the Planet, a book by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez. The author begins by describing his speech to the UN in 2015 regarding the urgency of climate change. Instead of memorizing it word for word, he goes off-script and lets his passion take over. I was impressed by his confidence and his whole-hearted approach. I can’t imagine standing up in front of so many people and going out on a limb like that. The way he tells his story, the detail that he includes, reminds us that sometimes, looking at the experience of a single person can communicate more than facts and figures. When he goes on to talk about his connection to his family history and the strength that it brings him, his authenticity truly comes through.
On that day, he was preceded by another speaker who shared a poem that she had written, promising her daughter that she would not let rising sea levels swallow the island that she calls home. Xiuhtezcatl tells us that her honesty truly struck an emotional chord with the audience. Hopefully, his book strikes a similar chord with his readers and kindles passion in activists everywhere.
What a Wonderful Surprise
I am not a big fan of what I consider to be “old movies” (please don’t judge me). I find it hard to relate or get entertained but the movie, Blues Brothers was the exception! I absolutely loved it for its timeless comedy as well as its good jazz music.
The movie begins with Jake Blues, half of the Blues Brothers coming out of prison. After reuniting with his brother Elwood they go visit the boarding school they grew up in. However, once they go inside they are told that the school is in financial trouble. The only way to save the school is to pay $5000 in 11 days. The brothers decide to save their boarding school by putting their band back together.
My friends and I loved how many enemies the brothers seemed to get along the way. For example, when the Nazis were on the bridge saying “I hate Illinois Nazis” and Elwood uses the Bluesmobile to make the Nazis jump off the bridge. Yet, as my friends and I discuss it days after we watched it- we drew on the white supremacist rally, especially in Charlottesville. Although I laughed about how the police and Nazis were after the brothers one cannot help but think of how relatable this movie is. I really appreciated how this movie made me think about the things going on right now.
Those Bums Won Their Court Case
The Blues Brothers is one of my all time favorite movies. That’s why I voted to have it shown as the last film for this semester. However, I hadn’t seen it in a few years. I was curious how it would hold up – I knew the movie had a lot of content revolving around black culture, but I was wondering how scenes like the scene in the Church with James Brown would hold up against a more modern lens. I was beyond surprised with how much I noticed on this viewing about the themes of the movie.
The ostensible goal of the Blues Brothers is to celebrate Jazz and Blues music. The star studded cast, and director John Landis’ sensibility of “Another musical number? Why not!” all work towards this end. With that most prominent goal in mind, it’s worth reflecting on the total framework of the story, particularly the relationship the film has with music other than Blues.
There are multiple instances in the film where other genres of music come up. At Bob’s Country Bar, they have both kinds of music, Country and Western. And, finally, the Nazis are accompanied by Wagner’s Flight of the Valkyries. All three of these genres have one thing in common at some level – they are all associated with white culture by the time of 1980, certainly more so than Jazz or Blues. While the Blues Brothers are white themselves, it is evident that the film is placing them opposite of white culture.
The film does this in another way as well with the nature of the Brothers’ antagonists. There are three: The police, the Nazi party, and the Good Ol’ Boys (traditional country folk). Note that all three of these can be interpreted as elements of the opposition faced by African Americans. What’s particularly of note, however, is how all three of these persist in the present day. The question of racially charged police brutality is as prominent as ever, after incidents like the death of Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, and Philando Castile. The Nazi party, while likely a farce in the context of the movie, has also made its return as of late, with White Power movements spreading across the nation. And the Good Ol’ Boys, if we interpret them to be a representation of a traditional white culture, particularly from the American South and Midwest, have also made their return with the election of President Trump.
The movie makes a farce of all three of these antagonists, and there’s two ways to interpret it. In making light of these three groups in the way the film does, it could be seen to undermine their power, by taking away any serious interpretation of the message these groups present. An increasingly militarized and violent police is made far less frightening and serious when that power can’t even apprehend two musicians. The Nazi party and the Good Ol’ Boys are also made into farces as their message is constantly undermined by their ridiculous and obsessive behavior. However, one could also argue that this comic presentation fails to take these issues, which were as serious then as they are now, seriously. By presenting them comically, the film allows the audience to dismiss these issues as mere silliness. Between these two interpretations, however, I think the film is going for the former. There is too much carefully chosen, like the dismissal of more white styles of music, the celebration of absolutely incredible Jazz and Blues musicians, and the three antagonists being three forces easily seen as opposition to African Americans, for me to think the film is trying to make these seem less important than they actually are. And I’m going to grant the film this.
Ice Skating
As a fun end of the semester activity we were able to go ice skating at Lynah Rink. This destresser, gave us a fun way to enjoy spending quality time with friends while participating in a fun activity. Since I hadn’t gone ice skating for a long time, it took a few tries for me to get into the rhythm of things. yet, after those first few “close call falls”, I was able to find myself enjoying the satisfying gliding sensation that I had enjoyed so many years ago. Overall, I would highly recommend this worthwhile activity for anyone looking for a good time filled with laughs.
The Blues Brothers, Forty Years Later
Prior to deciding to come to this past Friday’s showing of John Landis’ The Blues Brothers, I did a cursory skim of its Wikipedia page. I had remembered my parents mentioning it once or twice so I figured it was an older film somewhere between Die Hard and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. When, within the first two paragraphs of its wiki page, the plot was described as a “redemption story” for ex-convict Jake Blues, I had subconsciously judged a book (movie?) by its cover and labeled it a wholesome buddy comedy to watch right before finals, something that I very much needed.
While I don’t feel that this initial assessment was entirely incorrect, it certainly doesn’t capture the entire essence of the movie. What I didn’t expect going in was biting commentary—commentary that is still strikingly relevant today, some forty years later—in between the jokes and musical numbers.
Looking back, I find it funny that film billed flatly as a “redemption story” has the police as one of the primary antagonists. Throughout the movie, this stance is unmoving. Until the very end, the police are out to get the brothers, and the film even ends with the band in jail after finally having been caught. While on some level this does play a very comedic role in the story, I can’t help but see parallels to the way police are viewed in society today. There is an increasing divisiveness with how society perceives the police, especially after events like the shootings of Eric Garner, Dedric Colvin, and Michael Brown. It’s interesting to see how this has evolved since the early 80’s when this movie was first released—even moreso to see how relevant it still is today.
In a similar vein, the other major antagonist of the story is the Nazi Party. Similar to the role of the police in the film, this seems as first to be played comically. However, there are some interesting parallels to today’s society. With the startling resurgence of white supremacy in the past year (e.g. Charlottesville), this hits close to home. While the idea that there are people who still feel this way may seem ridiculous, the bigotry showcased in the movie is still alive and well today.
We have definitely progressed as a society in a lot of different ways since the year 1980 when The Blues Brothers was released. But sometimes films like this can’t help but make you wonder if we’ve truly come as far as we think we have in the last forty years.
Harnessing the Body’s Potential
Last week I attended the table talk about immunotherapy. During this talk I was able to learn about this interesting type of treatment that seeks to induce, enhance, or suppress or the body’s own immune response to fight diseases it sometimes gets tricked by. One very popular disease researchers want to implement this form of treatment is for cancer. Because there are numerous types of cancers, which also vary person to person, creating a common treatment for all cancers is not likely, but it has been implemented for the treatment of some cancers, including lung cancer, leukemia, and melanoma.
Immunotherapy, or biologic therapy, uses substances made by the body or in a lab to reinforce the patients own immune response. Immunotherapy can help the body slow or stop the growth of tumors, and even make it better at getting rid of cancerous cells.
Cancer affects a great many people, and it is always interesting to see how the treatment for this disease is changing due to all innovations in the field. Immunotherapy is a growing solution for treatment, because it utilizes the body’s own immune system in fighting disease, which causes fewer negative consequences, unlike with most of the popular treatments, especially chemotherapy. I look forward to watching this treatment increase in effectiveness.
Modern Primitives
A very interesting discussion about how societies framing of peoples has reflected shifting stereotypes throughout history was lead by GRF Sam Legasse in this Rose Cafe. It was interesting to hear about, as well as see, the way displays of culture have been reshaped and relabeled over time. One example of this was shown in a video of Josephine Baker as she performed in a jungle setting wearing a banana skirt and swinging from trees. The striking part of this performance was the instigation of societies stereotypes surrounding the idea of African primitivism. While Josephine Bakers performance can be view as a personal pursuit of fame and fortune it can also be viewed as a challenge of peoples view of peoples as modern versus primitive. We talked a lot about how this could also be a representation of a larger social trend. The movement to change stereotypes by taking ownership of them has proven to be very effective. When society imposes misconceptions on a group of people, if members of that group begin to claim the stereotype for themselves it loses its oppressive effect.
Another point of the discussion that stood out to me was the pictures of museum displays. This seemed like a commonplace thing at first but upon further discussion, I began to realize that the act of putting other peoples cultures on display plays into the societal tendency to impose stereotypes on facets of society. Viewing important and distinct cultural artifacts in this light influences the ideas we have about cultures that are modern and cultures that are primitive.
Health Care
I participated in a session that discussed Health care in the US which is an extremely important topic still debated as everyone needs access to health care, yet there is major disagreement on how to achieve it.We first discussed whether health care was a “right”. Whether all individuals should be entitled to health care, despite socioeconomic differences. Based on the article that we read, the majority of Americans believe that people should have access to healthcare, yet the concern is that there will be those that will take advantage of the system. As the Americans’ interviewed expressed a similar belief in not wanting to have their taxes be utilized for individuals that would not work to defray costs due to medical expenses. Therein lies a major problem for the politicians: how to make health care coverage accessible to all, but make it affordable. Yet the greatest problem arises from the medical institutions/ insurance companies. As the majority of healthcare payments in lost due to administrative work between insurance companies that offer different plans for the same benefits. If the government could offer a basic plan that companies could abide by so that the people’s taxes could go directly towards funding their healthcare/medicine/surgeries, the US would be able to have a universal health care system that would not bankrupt the nation.
CPR Training
Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training provides you with important skills as it teaches you how to save a life in case of an emergency. I participated in a CPR training session and became CPR certified. The Heart-saver courses are designed to prepare people to provide CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) use in a safe, timely, and effective manner. The hands on session gave me a chance to learn how to perform CPR, which is a major component of first responders day-to- day efforts. If more people in our community could learn CPR, there would be many lives saved as first responders may be delayed in arriving and in situations were seconds count or in events where too many people need attention for a single first responder to act, you can also help with your CPR skills to save lives.
Citizen Kane and Fake News
The award wining -film Citizen Kane directed, produced, screenplay and acted by Orson Welles, who played also the main character Charles Foster Kane, is considered one of the greatest films of all times. It addresses power, corruption, and vanity of a newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane, who became one of the richest and most popular men in America and then falls in disgrace.
Kane’s final words “Rosebud” and the snow globe refer to the traumatic childhood memory of when he as an eight-year old was torn away from his family in snowy day in Colorado to be sent to a boarding school, which marked him for the rest of his life. The scrip is the journey of how Kane becomes very powerful but is unable to reciprocate love. When Charles reached adulthood and inherited his fortune, he did not know at first what to do, but was full of idealism and recognized that if he had not been rich he would have been a better man. Although he could buy everything he wanted with his fortune, he chose a selfish path always imposing his own terms on others and manipulating public opinion, for which he paid a very high price losing his first and second wives, son, and friends.
“Rosebud” the name on the sled that he was playing with when he was separated from his parents represented critical times on his life when he confronted major loses: first the lost of his mother and father as a child, then when he lost his chance to become a governor and maybe President due to the scandal of his affair with Susan Alexander, who will become his second wife. Ironically, at first, he did not care for money, and had dropped out from many Ivy League Schools, including Cornell, and had no clear goals until he became a publisher for “The New York Daily Inquirer”. He made many changes so that the news could go out 24/7, hired the best reporters at the time, and included gossip and scandalous articles of corruption. He also published his own declaration of principles: “I will provide the people of the city with a daily paper that will focus on the truth,” without special interests, and “will tireless champion for the rights of the citizens.” Later on, however, he betrayed his own principles, and became corrupted and driven only by his obsession for power and fame, creating his own reality with false news. His paper manipulated mass opinion, when his ambition was exposed many people abandoned him while he continued with misinformation and fake news manipulating others. His friend Leland and his second wife Susan left him, as they could no longer accept how he was dishonest and manipulated the truth constantly for his own gain. Driven to lonesomeness by his own ambition, he did not trust or believe in anybody else. At the end, he grew disappointed of the world and built a world of his own in Xanadu, where he died in isolation.
The issue of fake news and how people can be manipulated by misinformation stroke me as it is still a major concern in our times with the advent of social media. Fake news spread fast through social media confounding the truth due to the lack of filtering of misinformation since anyone can post statements without validating the information at any given time to manipulate mass opinion even if the information posted is fake. To avoid falling on those scams, it is critical to be able to separate facts from fake news and be aware of the sources of information that can be reliable versus those that just manipulate others with misinformation to manipulate public opinion.
The Need for Safe, Accessible Transportation
For the last Rose Cafe of the semester, GRF Seema discussed how the plains of gender and transportation cross specifically in less developed countries. Her study seemed to focus mostly on India, comparing both formal and informal modes of transportation with that in the western world. While there is no definite guidelines that box in formal versus informal transportation, formal modes seem to be the ones that have documentation and are approved by the government. Informal modes are those that stemmed from demand and are not government sanctioned. It seemed difficult for the students in attendance to connect the two, but once Seema explained the scope a bit, conversation ensued.
One of the big areas Seema focused on was the different ways between how men versus women used transportation. For example, men have a more linear path throughout their day, often cycling between home and work. Meanwhile, women have a couple of more stops along the way, including dropping their children off at school, going grocery shopping, and grabbing a bite to eat. This simple difference has huge implications on public transport: women rely on it more because they have more places to go, and these places are often devalued in comparison to men’s.
I was very surprised with Seema’s presentation mostly because I had no idea what to expect. The only connections I could have previously made between transportation and gender was sexual assault. Once we delved into sexual assault on public transportation, the discourse quickly picked up. One of the more discussed solutions to this problem was making separate cars for women and men. While this does immediately solve some of the problems, it seemed that many students thought this would be counterproductive. Even though women had a safe space, men would not see it as their responsibility to curb assault. Also, once women step out of their specified cars, they would no longer be protected, so is it really an effective measure?
I personally see sexual assault as something that needs both an immediate and long term solution. Having separate cars is the necessary immediate effect needed to ensure women have access to public transportation. Yes, there needs to be more institutional changes that help enforce the illegality of sexual assault, but systematic change is seldom effective without social change behind it. As one of the other attendees said, these solutions paired with some sort of educational program would present the most promising outcome.
An Exciting Film
On the last day of class, my friends and I decided to take a break before finals and go to see ” The Blue Blood Brothers” movie. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The only classic movies I had seen before were, “The Breakfast Club” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. Compared to these other movies this was also a new genre, comedy. While I’ve seen some recent comedies or the classic “rom coms”, I hadn’t seen anything like this. The numerous stunts, car chases and the most amazing music to go along with it, made it a quite enjoyable experience. This movie kept me on my toes and I’m glad that I took a break from my studies to enjoy it. The Blue Blood Brothers set a standard for movies that I don’t believe could ever be topped. This was a great end to a great semester and I am looking forward to everything next semester might bring.
A response to a Washington Post review of Blues Brothers
I’ve never seen a movie that combined action, music, and comedy as masterfully as the Blues Brothers. It’s really hard to find anything wrong with the movie, and so rather than giving a list of accolades I want to focus on the Washington Post’s review of Blues Brothers. I’ll express my thoughts on the film as a response to this particular review.
Shortly after the film was released in 1980, Gary Arnold published a review titled “Oh, Brothers!” via the Washington Post. What makes this film review stand out is just how scathing it is. His main conclusion is that “‘The Blues Brothers’ offers the melancholy spectacle of [the stars] sinking deeper and deeper into a comic grave.” Surely something must be wrong here.
Now, a lot of the main points of the article are shrouded behind the imprecise and fluffy language that is all too common among movie reviews. But I’ll try to summarize some of the points as best I can and explain my response/thoughts on them.
1) The film is poorly shot
This is evidenced in the first sentence of the second paragraph when Arnold notes that the film is “wretchedly shot.” He never really expands on this point apart from saying that the musical pieces are “undermined technically by [cramped] camera angles, murky lighting, ragged cutting, and tinny sound.” I won’t say much on this point apart from that I disagree. I can see that the cinematography was less than spectacular. But it didn’t seem to detract at all from the film. The camera angles never seemed awkward or limiting and the sound quality didn’t prevent me from appreciating the great music.
2) There’s a lack of material
This is one of the bigger points. Arnold posits that “there is no more material sustaining ‘The Blues Brothers’ than one would find in a silent comedy short running 10 or 20 minutes.” Now, certainly the plot is simple. But for this movie, the plot doesn’t really need to be that complex. The substance of the film is in the action of its scenes (note not just the action scenes, but the action of the scenes, i.e. what actually happens). And to some extent Arnold recognizes this saying that “the format is meant to allow room for both comic set-pieces and musical interludes…” and that the “scanty material might be forgiven if the highlights were irresistible.” But according to him the highlights are confounded by the technical shortcomings some mentioned above (Arnold also throws in the poor “lighting scheme”). This point seems very much hinged on the readers technical expertise when it comes to filmmaking. And if that is what Arnold must do to criticize the film then it’s hard to lend any credibility to his conclusions. I mean the camera and lighting certainly captured the content of the scenes so that the viewer could completely observe and follow what was going on. This may have been captured in a suboptimal way but that doesn’t change the optimality of the content of the film itself (here I’m distinguishing the content of the film from the technical production of it — hopefully this is a fair distinction).
3) The main characters don’t develop into anything interesting?
I put a question mark on this point because I’m not sure if it really represents what Arnold is trying to say. He writes that the movies producers have “failed to transform Jake and Elwood into the comedy team moviegoers had a right to expect.” There’s (ironically) very little development of this point. I actually have no idea what Arnold is saying. Jake and Elwood are very funny in the film. Their actions are unpredictable and demeanor compliments the rest of the events. In fact, one could write an entire article on how great the two are as a comedy team
Ruby Frost
I have never seen the Commons so busy. This is my first year at Cornell and therefore my first Apple fest. It was a super cool experience. We started the day listening to a podcast about types of apples and then we discussed the types of apples that Cornell grows. After, we walked over to the commons and saw it flooded with people and stalls selling everything and apples. The weather was beautiful and everyone there was in such a good mood it was a great day. Me and my friends picked up some concord grapes that ended up making our room smell amazing. In addition, we got some mac and cheese for lunch that was incredible.
Before this Saturday, I knew that we had the Cornell orchards but I did not realize the extent of it. I did not know that Cornell bred its own varieties. In addition, we discussed the naming of apples- especially Ruby Frost. I had never thought about the naming of apples and it was interesting to hear the reasoning behind some of the names and was surprised that the names all made very logical sense. Finally, I tasted many apples at the fest and they were incredible. I will definitely be going to back to the fest next year.
The Blues Brothers and The White Brothers
I walked into The Blues Brothers with absolutely no preconceptions or notions of what it was. Judging by the name, I assumed it had to involve some kind of musical aspect (a correct assumption). However, I had no idea the film would touch on themes that would still be so relevant almost four decades after its initial release.
The scene that struck the largest chord in me – and, arguably, for most viewers today – was the image of the Illinois Nazis on the bridge, stoic even against the rage of protesters cursing at them from behind a police blockade. The variety of protesters in terms of race, age, and gender stood in stark contrast to the overall demographic of the Nazis, who at one point mockingly said – and I’ll probably never forget this – “The Jew is using the Black as muscle…Whities, what are you going to do?” Soon after, they performed a Nazi salute.
The Blues Brothers, from how I interpreted it, is a celebration of blues and soul music framed within a mildly ridiculous comedy. Perhaps in 1980, they believed that the Nazi party was a dying organization, and the provocative scene would turn into a mocking parody of backwards ideals by 2017. However, there is no denying that recent events – including the United States presidential election (White Nationalists Salute the President-Elect); controversy surrounding the largest Youtuber in the world (Pewdiepie apologizes for Nazi jokes but says the press is out to get him); a scene eerily reminiscent, albeit much more violent and frighteningly real, of the Nazi protest in the movie (2017 Charlottesville Protest Timeline); and even events on our own campus (Anti-Semitic Posters Appear on Ezra Cornell Statue, Campus Buildings) – have only reaffirmed the continued proliferation of white supremacy ideals in the world. For all the progress America has made in social rights since its foundation, the white supremacist movement (or white nationalist movement, or Nazi party, whatever you want to call it) is blight on our history that refuses to squashed out.
Racism (in this context, I’m discussing white supremacy, although racism between other groups is also very real and should in no way be minimized) isn’t an issue that developed out of the blue one morning, and therefore can’t be completely flushed out/addressed by a wacky 1980s musical. It’s systematic and systemic, an ideology that has its roots in the earliest human inter-group contact – there are still an abundance of steps to be made towards more progress.
In other words, The Blues Brothers isn’t a movie that appears to be attempting to wholeheartedly tackle the topic of racism – but if it aimed to at least open up the topic to a new audience, and spur discussion every time it is shared with new viewers, then I think it’s a valuable film experience (on top of its star-studded guest cast and feel-good soundtrack, of course).
Transfer Tales
Transferring universities is a unique experience that allows students to understand the culture of two different universities as well as learn more than those who stay at one university their entire undergrad. The SA Andrew along with Dr Hill led three transfers in a discussion about our transition. This discussion ended up reaching a place where Dr Hill and Andrew were giving us advice on Cornell in general. I liked this Rose event because it was genuinely helpful in trying to find our niche here.
During the discussion I learned a lot that I did not know about Dr Hill. He is a very accomplished man who has studied at the best universities in the world. He told us how he had never been involved during his undergrad and was able to attend these highly regarded schools by forming connections with professors. Dr Hill worked hard to not only become close with the professors who were teaching him, but also professors at universities that he was interested in eventually attending. The culture of Cornell puts pressure on students to get involved with as many clubs as possible, and although they are helpful it is overwhelming to feel that we will fail if we do not join these organizations. Dr Hill really put it into perspective and along with Andrew.
I personally transfered from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and Cornell University is a very different ball game. I am so happy that I was able to spend a year at my state school with my friends from childhood! Yet, coming to Cornell I felt like I was never going to be able to keep up. It is nerve wrecking to leave a place that you already know you love to go to a place that is unfamiliar. Luckily, I am very happy here and it was nice to see other transfers were struggling with the same things as I was.
ImmunoTherapy
At dinner in Rose, Shiv talked to us about immunotherapy research that he is conducting. We first discussed the current treatments for cancer which include chemotherapy. I knew that chemotherapy was preventing cells from dividing but I was unaware of the opinion that many oncologists and cancer researchers thought of the treatment-that it is outdated. On the other hand, immunotherapy is directly focused at only attacking cancer cells. From my understanding, it is a treatment that uses certain parts of a person’s immune system to fight diseases. Shiv explained his research as trying to retrain the human immune system.
It is almost impossible to find someone that has not been affected by cancer. This could either be from a family member, friend, teacher, etc. Talking about the future of these treatments is essential because the likelihood that we will be affected by the new treatment is very high. I have never been interested in science or medicine very much, but it is cool to see what our bodies do. The human body is so incredible and we only realize that when something stops working correctly. I wish that I was able to make a difference in this field.
Use of unnecessary violence in apprehension of the Blues Brothers…has been approved.
This movie was fantastic. Absolutely beautiful in just about every single way. I don’t know how the jokes or comedic timing or the stars could be any better. Rather than just summarizing the movie, I think there are a few points to make when considering applications to the world we live in today, as opposed to 1980.
At the end of the movie, the Blues Brothers are being chased by the police, a gang of Nazi’s and a country band. A radio operator says over the police channel “Use of unnecessary violence in apprehension of the Blues Brothers…has been approved”. What proceeds to unfold is the most over-the-top police chase I’ve ever seen on film, including helicopters, a tank, rappelling SWAT teams, 20-30 squad cars, etc. They proceed to hunt the Blue’s Brothers all over Chicago, finally cornering them at the courthouse.
These entire scene strongly reminded me about the issues going on today with the increasing militarization of domestic police forces. The comical overreaction of police violence to two runaway blues musicians is reminiscent of more recent overreactions of police violence in the last few years, both in Ferguson and elsewhere. The key part of the officers quote is *unnecessary* violence. One gets the impression that the officers are overjoyed to have a chance to test out some cool new toys: justice does not seem to be the motive. And I believe that this accurately reflects an attitude that we should have today: the more “cool” equipment and powerful weapons that we allow domestic police departments to have, the more inclined they will be to use them. This is exacerbated by the fact that the Blues Brothers aren’t even the most dangerous people in the movie: both the country band and the Nazi’s shoot at the brothers at points during the film, while the worst that the brothers do is (admittedly a lot of) property damage. Again, there is a parallel to the current day when it sometimes seems like the priorities of police departments aren’t to address the real sources of danger, but to stereotype and go after people that are assumed dangerous (particularly unarmed, black men) instead of actually dangerous people (Nazi’s).
Gender and Transportation: Are Band-Aid Measures Good Enough?
I went to a Rose Cafe this week where we talked about gender and transportation. I hadn’t really thought about how gender influences the transportation choices you make, but talking about it during the cafe made me realize that it really does. For example, I don’t use Uber/ other ride-sharing apps, and I don’t accept rides from people until I really know them because of safety reasons. It seems like every couple weeks you hear about women getting sexually harassed or assaulted on these ride sharing apps. I am lucky enough that I don’t need to use those services, but there are many women who have to use services like these to get to work, or go grocery shopping for example. That’s why we as a society have to come up with a way to prevent sexual harassment/assault from happening on public transportation. One thing that we talked about was that in India, there are some areas of the train/subway that are reserved for women only. But that is only a band-aid solution, it doesn’t target the root of the problem. The only thing that can is education and progress so that societal norms change. Society is very resistant to change, so more and more people have to speak up and convey that sexual harassment and assault do happen, and that that is not okay. We have already seen that recently with the #MeToo campaign, and also in the film industry. But I do think that these “band-aid” solutions are good until society changes. They allow women to leave their homes and go out and work/ care for their family. This gives them more independence. This independence will lead to demands for equality, which will eventually end up changing societal norms. This independence also gives women the power to leave abusive situations and still be able to provide for themselves. In short, I believe that these “band-aid” solutions allow women to be more independent, which leads to society changing bit by bit. I hope that one way everyone can ride public transportation/ use ride-sharing apps without the fear of sexual harassment/ assault.
Gender and Transport?
When I saw the Rose Cafe “Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill”, I was particularly curious to see how gender can affect commuting to places or even what was this talk actually on. To say the least, I was very surprised and really happy I went to this lecture. Seema started to talk about the problems of streets in developing countries where there are a lot of people. I’ve been to Bangladesh several times and, if it’s anything like India, the streets are packed with people. During the day time, on major roads, there are large traffic jams due to the sheer amount of pedi-cabs. Pick-pockets make quite a bit of money from the crowds.
What I found interesting was the interventions created by the Indian government to start a safe commute for women in India through reserved rail cars and pink rickshaws. The discussion of these solutions was the best part of the Rose Cafe. Many thought this was a naive solution because it pacifies the officials. However, with research and people speaking out about their sexual harassment stories, the broken, unsafe transport system has to change, whether that be tomorrow or in the next 5 years. The problematic aspect of this situation is the actual power given to the men who participate in these types of behavior. In order to fix an institutional problem, we have to start education on how to treat women and many groups have started small little schools. Perhaps the reserved rail car will increase from 1 out of 8 to 2 out of 8 or have a decreed safe space, but, this idea will be a fix until society is ready for women of different cultures to fully integrate into the working world. We cannot expect a world wide societal problem to be fixed within a span of days. However, we have to look for ways to help women until we can patch our society.
Immunotherapy Talk
Last week, I had the opportunity to sit down with Rose house GRF Shiv and talk about Immunotherapy. Shiv is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, once done at Cornell, he plans to attend medical school and go on to become an oncologist. Shiv spends the majority of his time in the Immunotherapy and Cell Engineering lab on campus where he conducts an array of different research involving cancer cells and treatments.
Since he has such extensive knowledge of cancer, he was able to explain to us how it works and how immunotherapy could help. Though everyone knows what cancer is, only a small percentage can explain what it is and why it is so dangerous to our bodies. He was able to explain it in a way that made sense to everyone: imagine that all the cells in your body have blue shirts on. Normally, when a cell with a red shirt on comes in, all the blue shirts know that that’s an “outsider” and automatically build up defenses to get it out as soon as possible. However, with cancer, it’s not that evident. The cancer cells are only wearing a slightly tinted blue shirt which doesn’t raise such a red flag for the cells automatically to fight back on. Essentially, your own body tricks itself into not being able to tell the difference between a good and bad cell.
As we know, there has been extensive research into medical treatments and procedures that could be the cure for cancer. However, instead of looking elsewhere for treatment, Immunotherapy goes straight to the source of the problem: our bodies. Essentially, Immunotherapy boosts the defenses in our body to fight off cancer cells by using substances that our body already makes to restore immune function. Immunotherapy is still relatively new and extremely expensive, however, many scientists and doctors believe this is a large step in the right direction in cancer treatment.
How do we move?
Today, I attended a Rose Cafe talk in which the topic discussed was how gender effects transportation habits. This is something I have never thought about before, as I always thought people are so different that personal preference would not be as easily modeled as it is in reality. The main focus of the talk pertained to the problems women in the developing world face with respect to transportation. In the industrialized world, many families have two cars or easy access to public transportation, so the issues are not as great. However, in the developing world, most families have one car if they have one at all. Due to this fact, the public transportation system is over crowded and inefficient. The crowded nature of public transportation make it a breeding ground for harassment for women especially. Therefore, the biggest problem is twofold: making transportation more accessible, whether it be public or private, and helping women feel more safe on public transportation.
There is not a one-size-fits-all solution to these big problems. The first step in my estimation is to lower the barrier of entry for privatized transportation. Recently, the Indian government banned a form of taxi service common in the village area. This has caused even more people to flood public transportation and exacerbated the preexisting problems. If there are more private options, not only will less people rely on public transportation fixing the crowding problem, but the cost of private transportation will drop based on economic theory. This is what we are seeing in the industrialized world with Uber and Lift coming into prominence. While this would help with accessibility, it does not guarantee the improvement of women’s safety. Some ideas to combat that are harsher penalties on assault or more serious harassment or simply educating the public on acceptable behavior. This problem has much more gray area in both the definition and potential solutions, but it can be muted with some basic measures.
Place Defines Personality
The Rose cafe with Stephan Schmidt covered the increasingly important topic of place and its definition and implications in urban and regional planning. I am extremely interested in this topic as it has to do with what I would like to work in as a civil engineer. Though I would be working in the engineering aspect of it, I am passionate about the effects place and environment have on its citizens.
I really enjoyed going around the room and hearing where people were from and how they described their hometown in terms of urban scale. It was interesting to note that though each city has some unique qualities, most American cities are very similar in their structure. But these small unique factors make large differences in the way people live in them. I had never realized the degree to which people were affected by their environment until we all talked about what our hometown allows us to do and what it restricts us from doing. It is so interesting to compare this to our living situation in Cornell in which most things are communal and centered around the university as opposed to an urban community. Dr. Schmidt pointed out how our manner of living here in Cornell no doubt represents a significant decrease in our carbon footprint from when we are home because of the fact that so many things are centralized and shared. This makes me think of the fact that in cities, centralizing certain things like eating areas and some amenities may be more difficult than other things like transportation, recreation, and living. I think the future of American cities is to move in the direction of improving its intra and intercity travel as well as improving the areas where people have fun and live in to accommodate more and all types of interests and people.
Many Backgrounds, One University
On Wednesday, I had the chance to participate in an engaging discussion with Stephan Schmidt. Initially, I thought this talk would be centered around Stephan’s research and his opinion on environmental design and land planning. Instead, he decided to go around the room and ask each one of us to describe our hometowns. In doing so, I learned about everyone’s background and how different they were to mine.
While some of us grew up in urban centers like Brooklyn, others were originally from rural parts of India. This gave me context as to how I viewed my community. As a resident of Long Island, one problem my community is facing is the aging population. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of living, young people who cannot afford the taxes of Nassau and Suffolk County move to the city. I was able to express this concern to Stephan, and as a former Long Island resident himself, he understood the problem of the region.
Another part of our discussion was looking at Ithaca and its land planning. I thought it was surprising when Stephan asked the question “who owns a car?”, and the only person to raise his hand was House Professor Blalock. We then discussed how not having our own cars on campus made us dependent on public transportation. Consequently, going to stores like Target and Walmart are not as easy.
Yoga, a Perfect Way to Start the Day
With prelims on my mind and accounting homework due by midnight, I chose to start my Saturday morning doing Vinyasa yoga with Meagan. During this one-hour session, Meaghan taught us how to ignore all the stresses we’re facing and focus only on ourselves. From the warrior position to the mountain stance, I learned the steps of Vinyasa yoga. I think it was especially helpful that I started my day off with this mental exercise. On a usual day, I hop out of my bed, get ready for class, and start the day with a cup of coffee. On Saturday, Vinyasa yoga gave me the rush of energy that my cup of coffee usually gives me.
At Cornell, academics and internship recruitment sometimes take a toll on our mental health. I believe that Vinyasa yoga should be a way students can distance themselves from the stress of the semester. While the gym strengthens our physical health, yoga is an activity that maintains our mental health. Considering this, I believe activities like Vinyasa yoga should be practiced more often by students at Cornell. I appreciate Meagan taking the time to walk around and critique each of our forms so that we made the most of this session. I truly enjoyed the experience and would highly consider doing it again in the future.
A Cure for the Future
Before this table talk, I had heard of immunotherapy in passing, but never in enough detail to truly understand what it is. And I can imagine I’m not the only one. In the most basic sense, immunotherapy is exactly what it sounds like. Therapy for the immune system. Why is this so important? Cancer is a mutation of the cells that the body’s immune system doesn’t see as a threat. So, to combat this you can either use outside methods to kill the cells, or have the body’s built in mechanisms take care of the problem. Immunotherapy takes the latter approach to eliminating cancer by having the body learn to defend itself.
During the Talk, two main types of immunotherapy were discussed. One where the natural “stop signals” in the immune system are dampened so that it actually attacks the cancer cells and another where the entire immune system is put through a “re-education”, so that it knows how to handle cancer cells. The latter is much more expensive, since it essentially involves draining a person of all immune cells and teaching those cells via machine, while the former process merely involves a drug that can be purchased at a pharmacy.
If it still seems a little complicated, the most boiled down version is this: imagine being able to treat cancer with a drug that can be bought at the pharmacy. For such a life altering disease, this seems ludicrous, but that may not be the case in a few years time. There are already a number of these drugs in testing for a multitude of cancers. There probably isn’t a single person in America who isn’t affected by cancer in some form. For me personally, I lost my Great Aunt to brain cancer a few years back. While the early form of these drugs may not be able to treat very serious conditions, they’ll do a tremendous amount for a significant portion of the population.
Inner City Conservation
Last week during the Rose Cafe, Professor Schmidt visited to tell us about is area of study: urban planning. The discussion began with his going into his field a little bit. He told us about why something like urban planning would be significant and how the same large questions persist throughout the study. One of the big themes he tied in the climate change and how civil engineering can help reduce the carbon footprint people leave behind.
Professor Schmidt make the discussion interactive by having each student tell where they are from and what type of area they grew up in, whether rural, urban, or suburban. I found this very interesting because there was a huge amount of people from suburban areas, which I guess could be expected. But I definitely was surprised by how few people were from the inner city. We mainly gauged our areas based on concentration of people, types of buildings, and transportation. We then answered questions about how this affected our childhood growing up in terms of recreation and schooling, especially in suburbia.
The discourse then shifted to how living on Cornell’s campus greatly plays a factor into reducing our own personal carbon footprint. For example, much of our produce is locally sourced. Many of Cornell’s facilities are communal, such as bathrooms, laundry rooms, and relaxing areas. There has been a rise in communal communities around the cunty, and it seems like this would be the way to go if thinking about the Earth.
I really wish we had more time to talk to Professor Schmidt. One thing I would have liked to discuss is how being from low income areas- that are usually urban- affects one’s carbon footprint. As someone who comes from inner Los Angeles, I find that low income people have been ‘green’ because they do not have a choice: many cannot afford to eat meat often, reducing their carbon footprint by a significant amount. They often wash their clothes by hand because laundry is expensive or they do not have their own laundry machines. Electric and water bills are always conservative to save money, and many grow their own food in hopes of saving a dime.
I think they are an untapped guide on how to live greener, but many seem to overlook this because these qualities are seen as markers of being underprivileged. Yes, they sometimes do so out of necessity, but the outcome is the same. They save money while also saving the world, and that is admirable to say the very least.
Massage and Learning Some Stress Relief Techniques
Last week I received a chair massage. Even though it was only ten minutes long, I nearly fell asleep. I don’t really realize it from day to day, but the stress of school tends to find itself in my neck and shoulders and it was very relaxing to have someone begin to relieve that.
The lady who gave the massage noted that my left shoulder was much more tense than my right and I initially wrote it off to the fact that I am left-handed. However she said it was more likely to how I carry my backpack. A lot of people carry their heavy bags on only one shoulder, especially when they go to open doors or in the case of a backpack, for a period of time before putting the weight equally on both shoulders. This can lead to unnecessary pain and tension. I noticed as I walked out of the room at the end that out of habit, I immediately swung my backpack onto my left shoulder. Her comments made me much more aware of how I wear my backpack to and from all my activities and mindful about making sure I evenly balance the weight so I don’t continue to strain myself.
She also told me to think about using heating pads when I felt particularly tense as a way to help relax my muscles. I have little microwaveable heating pads but up until then, I hadn’t really been using them for muscle pain. I found that they helped a lot and are a good technique for general stress for me. I think I will continue to use them as I head into finals week which is a stressful time when a lot of tension tends to sneak up on me.
A New Dimension of Stress
If you were unlucky enough to have a high school experience similar to mine, with more time spent in class than asleep in a bed, more extracurriculars than could fit on a one-page resume, and not to mention the nights that had more hours of homework than there were hours until class the next day, then college was a whole new dimension of stress. Along with just as much homework and just as little sleep, there’s a complete stranger as a roommate, a diet of Nasties french toast sticks and microwave noodle soups, unreliable washing machines that eat your socks, and the elephant in the room, the self-motivation required to get yourself up out of bed, through the twenty minute walk in the snot-freezing weather, and into a lecture hall. But in the midst of all of these varieties of stress, there is the oasis known as stress management. Rose House’s recent massage offering was a breath of fresh air that gave me a moment to sit back, or rather, forward, and relax. Stress management is the most important skill that students learn in college, but also the least acknowledged. The ten minute massage is sometimes all you need, as long as that break is frequent, in order to feel healthy, calm, and energized. So always try to take just a few moments every day as a stress break to reset and feel your best.
If you’d like guidance on taking breaks like the one described, the app “Calm” is a good place to start, and a subscription is free for Cornell students. For more information, see https://www.calm.com/cornell.
A Marvelous Massage
Last Saturday, I got a wonderful 10-minute massage at Rose. I was debating whether or not to get the massage because Saturday was an extremely busy day for me. The club that I am the president of was hosting its largest event of the semester and I was back on campus briefly between two shopping trips at the time of my massage. I planned out my time and realized that I could probably make the massage and decided to go – a decision that I didn’t regret.
When I first sat down for the massage, I tried to relax but my mind was racing – I was going over plans for the evening and reviewing all the tasks that needed to be done. But I soon scolded myself and tried to relax. I tried to stop thinking and just focused on the movements of my masseuse. She spend a lot of time massaging my back and neck area but also focused a lot of effort on areas that I didn’t realize she would massage, like my shoulders and arms. This surprised me because I don’t usually think about the fact that stress effects all parts of my body – not just the most obvious ones like my back.
The overall experience reminded me to make time to focus on my own health and well-being by making time to relax. On the day of a prelim or a big event, like this day, I usually wouldn’t take time for myself. I would study in every moment that I had or try to plan out every detail I could. But this massage reminded me that making time for myself can be as simple as a 10-minute break and easy enough to do on even the most stressful of days. Last semester, I took a PE class about stress management and relaxation. I left the class promising to make time everyday for some sort of relaxing or pleasurable activity, whether it be reading for pleasure or starting the day with meditation. It was easy enough to fall out of that habit but I have a renewed interest in pursuing it again. As finals roll around, I want to take time each day to destress and I hope you do too.
Fire: A Film of Peril and Hope
I saw the film Fire this past Friday. Fire is a South Asian movie that explores and questions some of the archaic practices of South Asian society. The film choses to focus on sexuality and arranged marriage, and revolves around complex family dynamics. These were and still are out of the ordinary topics for a film of Indian origin to cover, and as a result created controversy in India upon its release.
The movie revolves around one extended family living together in their shop: Sita, her husband Jatin, Radha, her husband Ashok, Jatin and Radha’s mother Biji, and the family servant Mundu. Over the course of the movie it is made painfully clear that Jatin does not care for Sita, preferring his girlfriend Julie over Sita. Jatin Openly talks to Sita about his relationship with Julie and how he prefers Julie. With the other marriage Ashok’s following of a religious fanatic has ruined his marriage with Radha, with Radha being trapped in a dysfunctional relationship for most of her life. After Sita moves in, Sita and Radha comfort each other with words in the beginning, but as time goes on their relationship becomes more intimate. They begin to think of each other as lovers and support one another through the hardships of their marriage. After some time has passed since their relationship bloomed, they think about leaving their husbands who never showed even one bit of affection towards them. As Ashok found out about Radha and Sita’s relationship he was horrified, and resented Radha, even refusing to help her when her clothing caught fire. The movie ended with Radha and Sita going away together to start a new life.
I thought the film illustrated perfectly the negatives of arranged marriage. Here we see two broken marriages, with both Sita and Radha unable to do anything, Radha herself being in the marriage for decades, because the society they live in demands that they remain loyal to their husbands even if they are unaffectionate towards them. This causes them to waste so many years with someone they resent. Homosexuality is also explored in the film, in how it gave Radha and Sita the companionship and affection they had been wanting from their husbands for years. This is unacceptable in the society they lived in, and the film makes the viewer feel angry that it isn’t accepted because Sita and Radha are so happy together, happier than they had ever been in their marriages, and deserve to be together.
Massage
When I told my friends in other houses that I was going to get a massage as a part of Rose Scholars, they all thought that it was one of the luckiest things that could’ve happened. I felt that way as well. It was so nice to be able to go on a Saturday afternoon and just relax for ten minutes.
I appreciate that this event was an option this semester. I think it really shows the way that the school, an more specifically Rose House, takes into consideration- and is placing more of an emphasis on- the mental health of students. I believe that this is one of the ways, even if it is for a smaller group of students, that shows the progress towards higher awareness of the different mental health issues that are just starting to become more publicly recognized.
While I wasn’t particularly stressed that day, I do think that the massage helped brighten my day a bit. For someone that was more stressed than I was, it probably had an even greater effect. Small events like this can help in even better ways to someone’s overall health, apart from just being a relaxing experience.
A Commentary on Human Desire
Last night I attended my first “Flora’s Friday film”. We watched the movie Fire, a film directed by Deepa Mehta about two women from loveless marriages who grow close and later fall in love in spite of the societal stigma against woman-on-woman love. I really enjoyed this film because it felt like a very candid look in the life of an LGBT individual on the other side of the globe. By nature of living here in the United States, it often feels like everything we learn and experience has a very americentric lens, and I genuinely enjoy learning about other cultures through powerful, emotionally evocative movies like this one. There is a very high chance that I would never have been exposed to this movie otherwise, so I’m very glad I was able to attend this event.
Beyond the multicultural perspective, however, I really enjoyed this movie because it provided an interesting commentary on the nature of human desire. Even the comparison of the two brothers– one very conservative with an intense need to be in control of his desires, the other who succumbs to his desires to the extent of visibly and shamelessly cheating on his wife–offers a very interesting juxtaposition of two different ideologies. I feel, this film spoke to the human necessity for communication. We all have desires, but if we simply suffer in silence then nothing will come of them. Working toward being more open and willing to speak with one another candidly is a necessity for humanity as we become increasingly globalized, and I believe this film speaks to this idea.
Your Hometown and the Environment
I went to a Rose Cafe last week where we talked about city planning. Professor Schmidt asked us where we were from and whether we thought that our hometown was a city, suburb, or a rural area and why. I’m from Pittsford, NY, which I would describe as a suburban area. We talked a lot about what defined a suburban area, and the thing that stood out the most was the need to drive everywhere. This is definitely true for Pittsford because Wegmans is about a 15 minute drive from my house, and the mall is about 25 minutes away. This definitely has environmental consequences. Climate change is a huge issue right now, and we need to find a way to stop or slow down climate change. Millions of people driving everywhere is definitely not good for the environment, but there really isn’t a good solution for this problem. Public transportation really isn’t very good where I’m from, but even if it were I don’t know how many people would use it. The reality is that using public transportation can be a huge inconvenience, as I’ve learned from my experiences at Cornell, because you have to plan your schedule according to the bus’s schedule. You also can’t go grocery shopping as easily because it’s hard to carry a lot of bags on the bus. It’s just easier to toss the grocery bags in the trunk, and go shopping whenever you have time. I don’t know how many people are willing to give up their cars, especially in a suburban or rural area where everything is far away. One solution to this problem might be electric cars because they are better for the environment. Of course, they also have their drawbacks because they are pretty expensive right not and there are not as many electric car charging stations as there are gas stations. But, if we can find a way to get around these problems, electric cars could help stop or slow down climate change.
Duty and Happiness
In the opening scenes of Fire, Sita and her new husband, Jatin, are outside the Taj Mahal. A guide is explaining how the Taj Mahal was created as a symbol of love. Sita tries to make small talk to Jatin, but he seems dismissive. She asks him “don’t you like me?”
Sita and Jatin live with Jatin’s older brother, Ashok, Ashok’s wife, Radha, and Jatin and Ashok’s grandmother, who has suffered a stroke and lost the ability to speak. The family owns a combination take-out restaurant and video rental store, where Sita and Radha work.
Most of the scenes in Fire are filmed inside the family’s home and store. The film contrasts scenes of seeming domestic tranquility with indications of deep-rooted conflict and discontent. Jatin tells his brother that he married Sita only to stop his brother’s nagging. He is also still seeing his girlfriend, Julie, and makes no attempt to hide her identity from Sita when Sita finds a picture of Julie in Jatin’s wallet.
Radha and Ashok’s marriage is similarly strained. After learning that Radha was unable to have children, Ashok took a vow of chastity.
Fire is interesting in the way that it suggests that Sita and Rahda are both alone and not alone. Both are married, but neither feel loved. The two women live in a busy household, but many scenes feature Sita and Radha alone together. And yet, even when Sita and Radha have the house otherwise to themselves, Jatin and Ashok’s grandmother is there. She cannot speak, and thus cannot tell others what they do, but she is there to observe them nonetheless.
Reflection on Movie Fire’s Influence on Modern Approaches to Marriage
Days ago, I watched the movie Fire as part of the Flora Rose Film Night. As I’m back at home, this movie got me thinking about the structure of arranged Indian marriages and how they work long-term. In the case of my parents, an arranged Indian marriage has worked really well for them. However, as seen in this movie where two wives are neglected by their husbands, that is not always the case. I think this movie brings to issue a common issue that many societies in India face, where people get married just for the sake of their families, but aren’t truly happy. In the case of my parents, their arranged marriage works well since they did meet many times before their wedding. But many times in arranged marriages in India, the wife and husband don’t get enough time to meet each other which leads to unhappiness of one or the other in the pair. Nowadays in India, there is a lot more transparency about getting to know people before marrying them, but it is still not a common practice. Many people in India still get married because their families force them to, not due to their own will.
This movie was able to bring across this issue to demonstrate the lying and cheating there is in arranged marriages where partners don’t get to know each other well before. I believe that this movie aims to show men or women who are having an arranged marriage without knowing their partner that this type of marriage isn’t easy and perfect just because the horoscopes match up. I think this movie aimed to be a turning point in which Indian men and women realized the challenges they could face with arranged marriages, and prepare them for what their life after marriage could potentially be. I believe the movie additionally conveys the imperfection of arranged marriages not to denounce them, but as a way to alert people who are getting an arranged marriage of the risks involved. I think the target audience of this movie expands not only to men and women considering arranged marriages but also to the parents of the families that force their children to get arranged marriages. This is because if parents of these families are able to see the unhappiness the spouses feel towards each other as well as the cheating and deceit that can occurs through these marriages, then they would be less likely to encourage them. Change occurs once the elders change their opinions, since they pass on these ideas to the rest of the future generations.
Fire
Fire, a movie set in India, is about the relationship that develops between two women that have married into a family. Each of them is married to a brother in the family, and the film starts with Sita, joining the family after recently being married to one of the brothers. Both of the women are unhappy in their relationships, with Sita’s husband openly having a Chinese lover, and Radha, being infertile, is with a celibate husband who does not want intimacy with her. The two women find solace in each other because of their marriages and become lovers themselves.
Being one of the first Bollywood films to incorporate and emphasize a story based on a homosexual relationship, the film has even more of an impact on the viewer. It explores themes that were not accepted by many at the time, and in doing so brings to light the different viewpoints on the subject.
Personally, I believed that the film was very impactful. I thought that the way that the film developed the relationship between Sita and Radha was particularly good. The small moments that passed between them before Sita kissed Radha showed the bond that was shared between the two women. Even after that moment, when Radha was doing Sita’s hair, the relationship could be felt by the viewer, and was established as an integral part of the film. The connections between the two was largely emotional, and by setting up their backstories and showing the way that their marriages functioned, one could see the way that the two came to each other.
Saturday Relaxation
With finals right around the corner after an already stressed filled semester, I have been stressed since August. There is barely ever a break and the days until winter break are on a countdown. On Saturday I had a brief moment of relaxation when I received an amazing massage. I had chills the entire time, and was finally able to forget about some of the things I had to do, which usually loom over my head at all times. I asked my massage therapist at the end whether she could feel how tense someone was when she did a massage,, she immediately responded with yes. I found the massage very beneficial and can see the need for a little relaxation in a stressful life.
What is right?
Anyone who has been watching the news since last November will know that one of the more prominent issues in politics is what to do with the current health care bill, Obamacare. There have been multiple attempts to affect it, either by improving it, replacing it, or just getting rid of it with no replacement or back up. Those who want to keep it argue that universal healthcare is a right that everyone should have without being forced to cover bills that they can’t pay, while those that want it repealed believe that an individual should pay for their own way in life, rather than have everyone be responsible for them and pay for their health coverage. The argument seems to come down to what people believe is a “right”. We always hear about the “right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. And its clear that everyone has a right to see a doctor and be healthy. But does that mean they also have a right to have other’s pay for their visit. To me, if the question is phrased like that, it almost seems like they’re purposely taking advantage of the system. I see it more as having the right to be able to continue living with the same quality of life, before and after being sick. It doesn’t seem right for someone to be so drastically penalized for something they can’t control. An obvious argument brought up by the New Yorker article that we had to read for this Table Talk is that a hard working family should not provide benefit to someone who’s taking advantage of the system. And there will most likely be some people that just laze around, not bothering to put any effort into life and just leeching off the system. However, I believe that those who benefit and deserve to far outweigh those who take advantage. There’s no reason everyone should pay the consequence for a few bad apples. This is clearly an issue that will remain a topic of discussion in politics for many years(and possibly presidents) to come, and hopefully we’ll come to a conclusion that benefits everyone.
For those with interest in this topic, here is the article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/02/is-health-care-a-right
What About Healthcare?
I had the opportunity to participate in a table talk last week that discussed healthcare in the United States. We first talked about how healthcare should be a right of all US citizens, but we couldn’t agree on an effective application of it to benefit the most people. We soon moved on to talk specifically about the Affordable Care Act. The thing that was interesting about this part of our conversation was that the various people at the table had different opinions of it. I realized that, like any other debate, there are going to be people who appreciate the Affordable Care Act and others who dislike it and want it to be gotten rid of: what we have to realize is that there will always be people who object to a healthcare plan, but we need to still create (or revise) something that will benefit the most people.
As I heard the thoughts of some of the other students at the table, I was impressed by how much they knew about the situation and what perspectives they provided us about healthcare in this country. Since most of this information was new to me, I realized that I in fact know little about this subject: I decided that I must become a more informed citizen so that I can have rational conversations with people that have similar and differing opinions on the subject. It would be nice to have more dinner conservations with my friends like this one.
A Relaxing Time
I really enjoyed the massage event this past week! I was a bit hesitant at first to sign up but I am so glad I did. This event made me realized it is not necessarily how much time you spend taking a break but how you spend your time during your break. Usually, I take a break from work by watching a video online or scrolling through my social media for a while. I also end up doing this for much longer than 10 minutes. But this 10 minute massage session was much more effective in helping me relax. I think it is interesting how much I enjoy planning things out as to make sure my time is effectively used, but when it comes to taking a break, I ignore all of this. There are many activities that are a better use of my “break time” than going on my computer and this massage session was a reminder of that.
After the massage, I felt motivated again to be productive for the rest of my day. It was kind of like the feeling you get when you wake up after being well-rested. As students, there are often times when we feel stressed out and I think that it is important to take some time for yourself especially in these moments. Finding the right ways to relax is crucial and it is always fun to try out new activities!
Our Surroundings
During the Rose Café, Stephan Schmidt came in to have a discussion with us about city planning. During the discussion, he had everyone in the room talk about where they were from and classify their hometowns as being rural, suburban, or urban. It was interesting to hear about the different places that everyone was from and how they saw their hometowns. I never really thought too much about where I was from and how I would describe it. I grew up twenty minutes right outside of Seattle. I thought that where I grew up was in between urban and suburban. My hometown is different from the Seattle downtown area. Even within a small radius, there are many different neighborhoods. Also, my hometown is very different from Ithaca. It was interesting to hear about where other people grew up and how they may be similar or different from where I grew up. It was also interesting to hear why people classified their hometowns as urban, suburban, or rural because it seemed like many people talked about transportation as a reason. City planning is very important because every town, city, and neighborhood have different needs, and it is important to address their specific needs. We are in some way affected by our surroundings. My hometown did shape me as a person. I want to learn more about city planning, and specifically how city planners go about addressing issues within a community.
New Ways of Farming: Hydroponics
Our conversation with Erica Hernandez from the Cornell Hydroponics research lab was an extremely interesting way to learn about this up and coming agricultural practice that is allowing people all over the world enjoy locally grown crops out of season! It was absolutely fascinating to learn about the several techniques used in hydroponics and how they differ in their results and implementations. I had heard of this technique prior to the cafe but I had never actually known it was used on such a wide scale as it is currently being used. For example, I could not believe we were able to harvest 150 pounds of lettuce that came purely from a single greenhouse at Cornell and was grown within the span of 23 days! This cafe with Erica Hernandez changed the notion that I had of greenhouses and hydroponics from being areas where one could grow enough to hardly provide enough for themselves to something that I now see is competing with large traditional farming practices.
I was particularly interested in the economic aspect of this new method of farming. If made cost effective enough, this will surely grow to be a large staple of local economies in areas where faming was previously restricted to summer seasons only and replace many cities’ reliances on the importation of produce during the winter. This is fascinating as it can create a truly rich agricultural local culture in different cities and towns across the world as smaller greenhouse and hydroponic farms popup in places that could not before. This is a new frontier that provides many exciting possibilities we will surely see develop within the coming decade in terms of how and where we eat from.
Fight Back
At tonight’s table talk we discussed immunotherapy. The most common way to fight cancer is chemotherapy, but this is very primitive since it kills all cells that divide quickly, evidently leading to the loss of our hair. GRF Shiv is doing research in a form of immunotherapy. He told us about how he created a lymph node outside of the body that speeds of the process of antibodies marking “bad” cells. The body naturally produces them over the course of 14 days, but with Shiv’s method it only takes 4! These antibodies can then be used in vaccines to fight cancer and other diseases. “Science and cooking are so similar. You look for the right recipe and right ingredients, but instead of taste being the outcome its human life.” This was my favorite quote of the talk because it makes it seem so much more relatable and understandable. I think Shiv’s research is so interesting and innovative and it makes me wonder why it is not a more common treatment for cancer. If we could cut down the time it takes to fight these invader cells by 10 days why aren’t we?! Thank you Shiv for an informative and enjoyable chat filled with laughs and a new perspective on science. Your laugh made me laugh too!
Importance of Health and Wellness among students
In light of the semester coming to a rapid end, we must remember to take care of ourselves. We must remember to properly eat and sleep because sometimes, during finals we forget to do these things. The massage event was a great way of rewarding myself for studying and taking a nice break from it. Most students, like myself, tend to stress a lot about grades and it causes the fall of our physical, emotional and spiritual well being. For this reason, it is very important to take time to take of yourself and not just academically.
GMOs
Genetically modified organic (GMO) foods are a debated topic in the food and consumer industry. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA ) has run tests on these GMOs and have concluded that they are unlikely to present risks on human health. They have passed all safety assessments.
Presently, AquaBounty Technologies, which is a company in Maynard, Massachusetts, has developed a GMO salmon that has sold product to customers in Canada. Now they want to make the move to the market in the U.S. but it is about how consumers would react to it.
Their discovery was very risky, this is considering that it almost put them out of business on several occasions. They started in 1989, where scientists gave a growth hormone gene from the Chinook salmon and gave it to the ocean pout allowing the fish to have a continuous low level of growth hormone.
In the table talk discussing this topic, I felt like one thing that effects consumer acceptance in not only GMO fish but other GMO products would be ignorance. I feel like we as Americans are hesitant to try new things because to the average person they may feel like scientists are tampering with their food. For example, in the article, Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski called AquaBounty’s salmon “fake fish”. Not only can this hurt the product, but Americans will continue to be fickle about trying the product.
Also, we had a debate on whether or not GMO products should be labeled as such or not. I said that they should but also should have a difference in price between hem and their non-GMO counterpart. I feel like being honest with what is going on with food is how they will get the consumer’s trust.
The Benefits of Massage Therapy
Someone once told me that a massage is to the human body what a tune-up is to a car. The benefits of massages, however, go beyond just physical. Along with physical benefits, there are emotional and even mental benefits of getting a massage.
Physically, massage therapy is designed to stretch and loosen muscles. It also improves blood flow. It can also facilitate the removal of metabolic wastes and increase the flow of oxygen and nutrients to our cells. Of course, massage therapy results in the release of endorphins–the body’s natural stress/pain reliever!
Emotionally and mentally, massage therapy provides relaxation and reduces mental stress. This reduction can enhance our capacity for thinking and creativity. This therapy is also known to reduce anxiety levels, giving us an overall “feel-good” mentality.
Thoughts about healthcare system
Last Monday, I participated in the table talk about healthcare system. We talked about many problems raised with whole society healthcare system, for instance, the delay of healthcare service. However, as an international student, I think about this problem with my own healthcare experience in Cornell.
Since I have the student health insurance, I got the best quality health care I can ever obtain in my life. I have two times referred to doctors in Cayuga Medical Center. Both of these two doctors graduate from top tier medical school (like Columbia), and gave me good treatment. What really impressed me is that they not only offered me good treatment, but also explained to me why that was the best solution for me. They are both polite, and respect me a lot.
From this perspective, I would say that the healthcare should be a right. If everyone can get this kind of healthcare service, people can get health both physically and mentally.
Take a Break!
It’s very important to give yourself a break. Whether it be a stroll around campus or a quick ten-minute massage, everyone needs a little “me” time. My massage this weekend was such a treat after the end of my prelims this semester. Being a student at any college or university is challenging, let alone an ivy league institution like Cornell. Sometimes we get so caught up in our studying and problem sets that we forget to take care of ourselves. The human body can only take so much stress before it starts to break down. We can’t continuously pull all-nighters and give up our sleep just to get the grades. It’s essential to take a little breather every now and then. My massage this weekend gave me ten minutes of pure relaxation. Everyone needs to find time to let themselves recharge. Thank you Rose House for giving me this little break to recuperate and get myself ready to tackle the next few weeks of studying and late nights!
Virginia in the 1960s
The main thoughts I got from the movie Loving within the first half an hour is how differing ideas can lead to what seem like unnecessary frustration and suffering. Richard, a white man, and Mildred, a black woman, drive out of Virginia and get married, since their marriage would be illegal in their home state, and then return to live with their families and assume their new lives with a marriage certificate. Though when they return, they are still jailed and their matrimony is viewed as illegitimate, as their local sheriff arrests and separates both of them. His explanation for the separation is that people of different races were placed in different locations of the Earth, which he viewed as God’s intent for them to not marry and produce offspring together. And this was the written explanation for the court ruling their marriage illegal. Despite the work both groom and bride put into starting a new life together and finding a legal loophole, they were still ultimately required to leave the state, which they did together.
The film then shows their life once they’ve moved in such a way that made me appreciate it more as a story about a real relationship and not just about legal injustice. As the couple raises their children, it is especially clear that Mildred is not happy so far removed from her family back in Virginia. The burden of loneliness seems to strike her everyday as her husband is constantly working. While this problem does seem like it would be fixed were they still living in Virginia, and is partially fixed once they move back, seeing the characters deal with stress from their new lives in a new location made them appear even more human on screen.
Even closer to the end of the film, there is still friction between the two in how they deal with the publicity that comes along with their legal case making it to the Supreme Court. Instead of focusing the entire movie on solely courts, judges, and decisions, the movie’s creators seemed to show multiple sources of conflict that portrayed the relationship and struggles between Richard and Mildred Loving as organic and definitely made for an emotional two hours.
Massage Stress Reliever
As a second year Rose Scholar, I am very satisfied that there was an activity that was geared towards relieving us students of stress. Thank you to GRF Sara for putting this on. I remember last semester, that there was a table talk in which we talked about the mental health of students on campus. I discussed how students are so worried about academic and career related things, that they really do not have time. I feel that this was a step in the right direction, people have time for ten minutes.
With the massage itself, my masseuse Tracey was very friendly and I was basically able to take a ten minute nap, because of how comfortable it was. After the massage, I was loose and relaxed for the rest of the day. It was the best feeling, I felt in a long time.
So I think we as a student population need to give ourselves more credit than we think and treat ourselves every once in a while.
A Massage for Me
Yesterday I was ecstatic to go into Rose as I knew I would be getting my own individual ten-minute massage. I have never received a professional massage before. I have been really stressed out because of all my exams and I think the massage at Rose was a wonderful activity to help de-stress students and get them ready for Thanksgiving.
When I went inside the room I could smell the essential oils and I could hear the soft tunes of music coming from a small speaker. My masseuse Retina was super nice and made me feel relaxed. She told me she could tell I was stressed from the knots I had. The massage was over so soon and although I was sad it was over I was happy I got to let go for ten minutes, I am really considering making a massage appointment at Cornell Health. What do you think?
I am CPR Certified!!
On Saturday my roommate and I woke up bright early to go to the main Rose House for CPR certification. I am pre-med and I’ve never done anything like this, so I was beyond excited. Cornell EMS was wonderful as they clearly explained the importance of CPR, and how important it is that we are prepared in case anything happens. They also explained that there is a kit in every dining hall of Cornell and one by Goldies in Clark Hall.
After we were prepped and seen an example of how to breathe in and do compressions it was time to practice on the dummy! I was so nervous but I was ecstatic when the dummy’s chest rose, as it means I was doing it correctly. It was awesome hearing everyone practice yelling at the dummy and doing compressions at the same time. The CPR instructor said he was really impressed with our group. After we were ready we had individual tests, and I passed!
This was such a wonderful experience!
Urban Planning
This past Rose Cafe focused on how where we live can really impact our lives and choices. For example, people living in urban areas are probably more likely to use public transportation and have more options in terms of food. People in very rural areas, conversely, need to use a car and are probably more limited in what they can choose from food-wise. This made me rethink the idea that just anyone can live a sustainable lifestyle. We can all take steps to decrease our carbon footprint, but it’s much more difficult for some people than others.
When we talked about the difference between urban and rural areas’ choice of food, it reminded me of a topic I was interested in a few years ago. Where I live in California, there is a huge disparity in life expectancy just between counties. This is largely due to the fact that one of our counties, San Bernardino, has a “food desert”. If I’m remembering correctly, a food desert is when there are no fresh food options within a certain radius of your home. People turn to fast food chains because they are basically their only choice. Planning out cities in a way that everyone can access healthy, fresh food is definitely integral to improving peoples’ life quality and expectancy.
Save a Life: CPR Training
It’s the skill no civilian hopes to have to use. If someone needs CPR, it’s about as bad as it can get: their heart is already stopped, it isn’t properly beating and will stop, or they aren’t breathing so even a normally beating heart will stop. One of the EMS trainers told us not to be concerned when we performed the chest pumps and felt crunching under our hands – that’s just the cartilage between the ribs breaking. I’d heard of this, but the next thing he said did shock me. “What do you do if someone’s rib pokes out?” Just keep going.
Even though CPR isn’t accurately portrayed in most movies, mostly to heighten drama, it’s still a pretty drastic process. You essentially are doing the work of a beating heart through layers of skin, muscle, bone, cartilage…and that requires a lot of force, force that necessarily damages some tissues. But if someone isn’t breathing, you really can’t make them worse then they already are. As my dad said when I told him about the training experience, “You can’t kill a dead person.”
Even though, as I said, I really hope I never have to use this training – because if I ever did need to, that person would already be in pretty bad shape – but I’m very glad I got the opportunity to learn. Being prepared to help is part of being a good citizen. This goes beyond just ability to help: every student who came to those sessions was making a commitment to their communities by effectively saying, “I will reach out to my neighbor in need.” It is heartening to me to see that many of my peers came out to learn CPR and be there for the next person in need.
How to Save a Life
This past weekend, I had the honor of becoming CPR certified. I believe that everyone should have at least a general knowledge of CPR, because you never know if you’ll be in a situation in which someone needs their life to be saved. Every single day we face dangers that can possibly lead to needing CPR— yet simple and easily learned procedures can help prevent this. This knowledge can be invaluable when someone is in medical distress. Knowing these things in a medical emergency can mean the difference between life and death.
Best Rose Cafe Discussion Yet
At Dr. Schmidt’s talk this past Wednesday called “Place Matters”, I got the chance to learn a lot about what my peer’s lives are like outside of Cornell and how these lifestyles were shaped by their home environments. While I generally ask people where they’re from when I first meet them, I’ve never asked anyone to categorize their hometown as rural, urban, or suburban or to tell me about the history of where they’re from or to discuss the amount of diversity in their hometown. This talk made me realize that 1) people come from a really wide array of homes ranging from densely-packed urban environments to sparsely populated pacific islands, 2) you can never guess what it’s like where someone is from just by looking at them or hearing what state/country they live in, and 3) you can really learn about and connect with people if you give them the chance to share. I connect to my home city very strongly and it was inspiring to hear people share about where they are from. This was by far my favorite Rose Cafe talk that I’ve ever attended because it was an awesome discussion.
Where do you live?
Professor Schmidt took time out of his busy schedule to sit down and discuss the differences in people’s lives based on where they live. While he mainly focuses on urban city planning, he knew a great deal about the effects of an environment on a person’s habits. I am from New Jersey and consider my hometown to lean more towards a suburban classification. I spoke with the group about the relative sizes of the properties/houses, distance to shopping centers, and diversity in the town. Professor Schmidt and I had a nice conversation about the high diversity rate in New Jersey as he had first hand experience from his time at Rutgers University. I believe that some of my habits would be different if I lived in a different location. For example, at home I need a car to drive to all places that are too far to walk to. However, at Cornell I am able to walk to all of my classes and do not see the need for a car except in certain exceptions. Additionally, at home my meals are more repetitive than at Cornell. At home I will eat a sandwich or a salad most days for lunch as it is quick and easy to make. However, at Cornell I go to a dining hall where there are many options that vary greatly every week. It was very interesting to hear about other’s perspectives of their hometowns. I am definitely considering taking an introduction to urban planning class in the future and I recommend that every sit down and have a talk with someone in the field as it is very stimulating!
CPR Training
Truthfully, I really didn’t have any expectations for the training. I knew what CPR was in principle, but I didn’t know what to expect in terms of involvement nor mood at a training. Interestingly, it was far less taxing than I anticipated, especially for getting certified. I’d even call it fun, thanks to the approachable and enthusiastic EMS staff. This brings me to wonder how much of the staff, or really anyone, on campus and elsewhere is trained in CPR, which can no doubt become rather useful when you least expect it. Perhaps, like the swim test, students and staff should be required to learn other life-saving skills, especially CPR and the Heimlich maneuver… Food for thought.
Healthcare Rights
This week’s table talk was about the fundamental question of whether or not healthcare is a right. To answer this question, we first had to define what is a right and who should be the one providing this right (the federal or state government? The United Nations?). A lot of what we take for granted are actually rights, like the right to clean water or trash removal. These responsibilities are handled by the government and there is no debate about it. However, the problem with healthcare is that it is so firmly intertwined to employment. One really interesting thing I learned from the article is that in World War II, the government imposed a wage freeze to keep labour costs from skyrocketing. Employers needed to somehow attract desired employees so the government allowed them to increase health insurance benefits and made them tax-exempt. Because of this context of history, health insurance coverage is tied to jobs leaving those who do not have company jobs (low-wage workers, the unemployed, small business owners, children, the elderly, and the disabled) with more obstacles for attaining insurance.
Unsurprisingly, the US is frequently ranked worst in the developed world for the healthcare system. In my opinion, it’s pretty embarrassing that we even have to have a debate about whether or not healthcare is a right. It comes down to the moral question about whether people who are wealthy have more of a right to live compared to those who cannot afford insurance. GRF Sara was telling us about how when she visits the doctor’s office in Canada (where there is a publicly funded healthcare system), she sees people of all different races and socioeconomic backgrounds in the waiting rooms. But in America, she does not necessarily see that. That was really disheartening to hear and as I reflect upon it, my own experiences match up. Certainly there are drawbacks to universal healthcare and I am not informed enough to come to any sort of conclusion but a system based on discrimination against the weak and poor seems fundamentally wrong. The answer to the original question ‘Is healthcare a right?’ was overwhelmingly ‘yes’ by the other Rose Scholars at the table. With our participation in democracy, I really hope we can progress in the right direction.
Red
This past Friday we watched a movie called Fire.
It was eerie watching a movie that depicts reality so close up. I had to avert my gaze many times not because any scenes were explicit, but because they were so poignant and different in their form of loneliness. This wasn’t the western idea of loneliness, that I find often presented bounded by romantic, social, work etc lines, but a cohesive, consuming one.
The want to be desired isn’t just a romantic want, but an innate human need to feel valued. Not delegated to carnal desires, but the desire to be valued for anything: work, effort, or intention. Instead, if a person is constantly berated and treated like a second class citizen it can lead to a fire, one providing a slate for a new beginning.
Massaging out stress
This was my first time being massaged and it was the most amazing experience I ever had. I sat on the chair not knowing what to expect for before I thought it might be a little wiered to have another one’s hands on my back. But the massagist was so good that as soon as her hands pressed my back i felt the relax that I never felt consciously, it felt as if I was asleep. All my muscle was totally relaxed as floating water, and all my stress went away. I felt really stressed out recently due to both academic pressure and the huge amount of work, and this massage really led me to relax and just be at present. After the massage on my way back, I felt the happiness and easiness that I’d carry on in the next week on my study to make me more focusing. This a noval try-out for me and it was surprisingly good, thank you so much for organizing this activity and I enjoyed tremendously from it.
I think through out the participations of the activities led by Rose Scholars programs, especially through this activities, I learnt about trying new things. If it was not that my time this week only allow me to participate this activity I may never thinking about this way to release stress. I felt being massaged was a little strange before, and I never thought about trying it. This activity let me took a little risk to try something that I may or may not like and even anticipated before, and it turns out to be one of the most enjoyable moments for me this semester.
Massage let me realize how much tension that I held every day, such as the intercostal muscle and neck muscle even muscle on the top of my head. Through the relaxation of these mescle, I felt more clear and focusing in my brain. I also talked with the massagist during the massage about what I could do in my everyday life to relax my muscle and keep a good energy. She gave me a few useful advises.
I love this experience so much that I sincerely hope that we could have more of massage next semester as well.
CPR: An Essential Skill
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to learn CPR. Besides the fact that CPR is a good skill to know anyways, I thought it would be a great idea to do it because I am interested in going into the medical field. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but Cornell EMS did a great job explaining the various situations and the steps we should take to perform CPR when necessary; it was also very cool being able to work with other students while learning the steps. Even though I was nervous about taking the test at the end, it was very low-stress and I was able to receive CPR certification. I would definitely recommend that anyone learn CPR if he/she has the chance, because it’s pretty simple but it’s something that everyone should know.
How to Save a Life
I hail from a family of doctors, however, I have made the decision not to follow in their footsteps. That being said, the world of medicine, healthy, and safety still interests me, so I decided to take the CPR course last Saturday. CPR, which stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, can save an unconscious person’s life. The instructors of the course taught us to check for the surroundings to make sure the location was safe and then how to check to make sure that the person actually needed CPR. Once we deemed CPR was necessary, we practiced doing chest compressions, deliver rescue breaths, and apply the AED.
CPR is something that I hope I never have to use, as unfortunately it does not always work. However, if I do ever encounter a scenario in which it is needed, I will intervene. This course has encouraged me to continue to learn about ways to help others in emergency situations and I hope that there will be more Rose Scholar programs to teach students.
how much a student can contribute in emergency situation
Last Saturday, thanks to Rose House, I have the precious opportunity to learn about how to save a life in emergency situation: We got the CPR training. The demo from the staff of Cornell Emergency Medical Service was very friendly and helpful. We had roughly 5 procedures for CPR. Every time one procedure was taught, the staff looked around the guided us. What interested me a lot is that the staff is a junior student, not some full time staff as I thought before. This provokes my thought that the huge potential a student can achieve and contribute to the saving of lives in emergency situations. The staff, who is a junior student, is very professional in emergency saving skills and also demonstrated us his skills very explicitly.
This enlightens me to think about the best part of Cornell: it offers students various opportunities to dig into different fields. “Any person, any study” is not only in classroom: it is also something outside of classroom, like CPR training. We may forget some specific knowledge we learn in classroom, but we will never forget that we can save someone’s live in real life.
Loving
I thoroughly enjoyed Loving. Although the last scenes that said the husband died in 1975 made me emotional, the movie was overall a happy ending and that satisfied me. I found a lot of similarities between Richard and Mildred’s love story and other struggles of the LGBT community. Of course, the Loving v. Virginia was used to justify gay marriage. I think it’s startling to think that interracial marriage was banned within our parents’ lifetimes, proving that only recently has legal racism been outlawed, meaning society has a long way to go.
It’s egregious to think that there was still such blatant discrimination so far after the civil rights movement. Even after the legalization of interracial marriage, a significant number of white Americans still view it as blasphemous. I think telling the story of the Loving family helps to show that the government has no right to interfere with our lives and that we should be able to love whoever we want to.