My favorite part of this Rose Cafe was to see look at the maps of the area surrounding Cornell that were sketched in the 1800s. It was also interesting to learn that the founders of Cornell opposed dormitory living. Part of the Rose Cafe involved a discussion about the new building plans for housing on Cornell’s campus. Interestingly most of the new beds won’t be used to accommodate new students but rather to serve as “swingers” for students in dorms such as Balch that need remodeling.
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Nicholas Carbonaro gives tips on hair care and presentation
This Rose Cafe was really interesting because it drew attention to a topic that can often be overlooked in college. Nicholas Carbonaro gave useful tips on presentation especially good ways to style hair. His accounts as a hairstylist and working with Cornell students provided useful insights about the importance of physical appearance for giving a good impression at a job interview, etc. It was interesting to talk about this aspect of presentation because one’s physical appearance can definitely play an important roll in giving a good impression even though that may not seem fair.
Disability Inclusion at Cornell
Disability at Cornell…to begin, most people don’t realize that disability even exists at Cornell. Many assume that if you don’t see it, then it’s not there. A lack of disability awareness is a problem that extends beyond our campus community–many people in our society don’t even know about the disability rights movement in our recent history.
This Rose Cafe was an excellent opportunity to start a conversation about an issue that’s not discussed enough. It was also interesting to hear Erin’s personal experience about being a college student at a time when there wasn’t such a thing as a campus disability services office, and it helped me realize how times have changed since the ADA was passed. Furthermore, this event was a great opportunity to start a conversation about how we can be more inclusive of students with disabilities on this campus.
Professor Schwarz describes interesting examples of fake news
The most interesting part of the discussion led by Professor Schwarz was that he drew attention to less traditional examples of fake news that many people overlook, perhaps demonstrating a level of hypocrisy in our campus community. According to Professor Schwarz, examples of fake news that people don’t usually consider include resume padding, spreading rumors about professors, sorority/fraternity emphasis on their philanthropic activities, etc. This was a really important perspective to bring because it shows that even in a society that is generally very critical of fake news, there are many people that constantly provide a different representation of reality.
Ruth Magreta draws stark contrasts with US society and Malawi
The Rose Cafe led by Ruth Magreta was eye-opening because it highlighted all of the privileges and conveniences we have living in the US and attending university, let alone one like Cornell. As she drew comparisons with her home country of Malawi, there were several comparisons that I found most striking.
-In the US we treat education as an expectation and something we are entitled to receive. In other countries such as Malawi, education is a privilege, and is necessary for any upward mobility and a better quality of life.
-One of the strongest comments Ruth made was that in America we discuss global warming and climate change as as theoretical concept. In Malawi, where most of the economy relies upon agricultural production, the people literally see the effects of climate change and for them it is a matter of life or death. This observation really helped ground the importance of the conversations we have about climate change, and that it’s more than just a hot topic or a thought game.
Judge Miller highlights the challenge of removing bias from court cases
Judge Miller highlighted the challenge of choosing a jury that would not be biased towards the case. I previously assumed that this was a more streamlined process and that the legal system has found a fool-proof way to select an appropriate jury, but this assumption was wrong. For example, Judge Miller highlighted the potential influence that geography, population, etc can have on selecting a jury. For example, in certain places it may be difficult to create a jury that is racially diverse, even though that may be the best possible outcome for a fair trial. This made me realize some additional loopholes that exist in the legal system.
Gothics Renovation
It was really interesting to learn about the financial reasons why the Gothics are not being renovated yet, and the other changes that need to be made to campus buildings (ex. RPCC) before work can be done on the Gothics. Surprisingly, many students were interested in having a Rose Cafe with the head of facilities (maintenance?) in order to find out more about how Cornell prioritizes renovations on campus.