Last Wednesday I attended a Rose Cafe where the speaker, Ph. D. student Erica Hernandez, summarized various methods for growing produce through hydroponics as well as their strengths and weaknesses. I think that I found her presentation especially interesting because the lettuce grown hydroponically was included on the menu for that day’s Rose House dinner. Beyond seeing the photos of the lettuce growing, I also was able to relate some of her explanations of the light influence on plant growth and development to the basic, related topics discussed in my intro comparative physiology courses. As someone more interested and knowledgeable of animal, namely human, systems, it was nice to have an elementary prior understanding of what she was talking about.
Author Archives: esk92
Saturday Yoga
This past Saturday I attended a yoga class instructed by Megan, an employee from Cornell Fitness Center. Although I was having a hectic weekend, I ended up appreciating the hour I spent in her course. I am sure that I am not the only one who has a fitness center pass yet has not attended a group class since the first few weeks of the semester. Thus, I was happy to have the extra push to attend the yoga class this weekend since it counted as a Rose Scholar event.
I was especially pleased when she guided us through eagle pose, one of my favorite balancing poses. She told us that she picked this pose for the class because it it is cold season and apparently the pose massages the lymph nodes. Perhaps, I will make going to yoga more often a priority; until this past Saturday, I had forgotten how much I really do enjoy the relaxation and challenge.
Sustainability
Last Monday, I attended a Table Talk on GMO salmon introduction to Canadian markets involving about eleven people in total. In the Rose dining room, filled with a cacophony of voices, I could not really hear what people were saying, but the bits that I did catch led me to consider the peripheral dangers of GMO salmon. I do not know the nuances of the industries practicing genetic modification on plants nor the ones attempting genetic modification on animals for commercial food sale. I am concerned, however, that only attempting to meet consumer demand for food through biotechnology places too much emphases on meeting demand without restructuring potential underlying forces of unsustainable resource consumption. Also, I fear that this debate over GMO safety, labeling etc. overshadows other, arguably more important, debates surrounding the nature of the modern agriculture industries found in America and other developed countries that rely on CAFOs, confined animal feeding operations, and fish farms for producing animals to be eaten. Regardless if one supports killing an animal for food or not, these industries have undeniable, negative environmental implications and often present hazardous work environments for livestock workers. Thus, this growing GMO debate might overshadow conversations that really should be had about other aspects of global food production.
Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society
The 1989 American film, Dead Poets Society develops the theme of taking advantage of opportunities by following one’s dreams and desires in the face of strict societal or familial expectations. While these themes were interesting to watch unfold, I thought that the more entertaining aspect of the film was seeing Robin William’s performance. His ability to adapt voices and smile infectiously reminded me of his performance in other classic movies including Mrs. Doubtfire, a movie I have not seen since middle school. I do not normally take time to watch movies, particularly movies from before 2000; thus, this was an engaging change of pace which reminded me of the joy I had watching similar films when I was growing up. Nonetheless, the relatively unexpected suicide of one of the characters and the normalization of sexual exploitation were certainly not reminiscent of those movies of my childhood.
Bronfenbrenner Centennial Lecture: My Major in an Hour
Last Monday I attended the Bronfenbrenner Centennial Lecture given by, Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for the New York Times and author of best-selling books such as A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity. Kristof mainly reflected on his perspective shaped by years of reporting on global issues including education inequality in China, sexual violence in Cambodia, and domestic poverty, to name a few.
And while much of what he had to say regarding the public health issues that different societies face was not very surprising to me, I was struck by the perspective with which he engaged these topics as a journalist. For instance, he told us that he can see how unpopular many of his pieces about critical human rights violations are, at least among readers of the New York Times, based on the fluctuation in number of people who view his articles. So as a world-traveling journalist, he shared experiences of interacting with people who have been impacted by these issues that many people do not even bother to read about.
One such story that struck me was that of a little boy living in an economically poor region of Appalachia who had a hearing impairment since birth. However, the boy did not receive hearing screening at an early age. This lack of routine, relatively inexpensive screening that someone more economically well off would have easily received, might inhibit the little boy from ever developing verbal communication skills. In other words, the boy’s poverty exacerbated a treatable impairment which could leave him chronically disadvantaged– preventable by simple interventions that should be readily available to all people regardless of their class.
As a Global and Public Health Sciences major, I have been exposed to these and similar subjects in many of my classes; thus, as I listened to Kristof, I thought that he effectively captured many of the salient points of my education in an hour-long lecture including the perspective that public health issues are chronically underappreciated and unrecognized.
Goats in Sweaters
Everything a student needs is arguably available on campus: food, shelter, study spaces. Living at Cornell can isolate students who have no need to leave campus from the surrounding community. Thus, opportunities to go down the hill and experience Ithacan culture are inherently valuable and refreshing. Mostly for this reason I decided to return to Apple Fest this year; I had tried the apples last year, and I thought I knew what to expect this year.
As I anticipated, vendors brought apples of all varieties and sold Fall inspired products from ice cream to fritters to soup. Although I did enjoy a spiced pumpkin soup, some strange apple varieties, and a dairy-free vanilla and pumpkin ice cream, the real treat from the whole event was seeing and petting small, curly-haired, sweater-clad goats–a nice change of pace for someone who rarely even sees dogs on campus. 
Unexpected
Before walking into Rose Cafe last week, I envisioned Judge Miller: stoic and bland. However, my preconceived ideas of him did not match the person capturing the attention of the already twenty or so seated audience members when I walked into the Cafe. Before I arrived, someone must have asked him what his favorite case was during his professional career as a defense attorney because he was mid way through explaining a twisted case of potential kidnapping. Although his stories were interesting and slightly unbelievable, the bigger surprise to me was how laid back, appropriately animated, and engaging he was; he sipped espresso and imparted sage advice about the need to find the strengths of another person’s character besides simply noticing their greatest flaws.
Perspective
I found dinner with Dr. Dambala Gelo Kutela, a visiting Cornell STAAR Fellow from Ethiopia, particularly interesting as he brought a refreshing perspective to the table as a non-American. At least two other students and Dr. Kutela shared the cultural norms and practices of their home countries which deepened my understanding of global issues including the dependence of diverse communities on weather and environmental patterns. On a less serious note, I enjoyed hearing about the aspects of general American culture which come as cultural shock to international students and the visiting scholar.