Author Archives: sp2433

Sexuality in India

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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.

 

Transportation and Gender in India

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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.

 

 

Hydroponics lettuce tastes ok

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This week’s rose cafe featured an interesting agriculture technique called hydroponics. The method is widely used in Japan, but in the US, it is less known. This is most likely due to the heavy cost structure of hydroponics which requires indoor space, water, and filter systems for nutrients. In addition, the plants must be carefully monitored to ensure that all of its needs are being met inside of the greenhouse. A huge positive of this form of agriculture is the fact that they are pesticide free since they are grown inside.

The taste difference between hydroponics and regular grown plants is subtle. But, nonetheless, I don’t think it tasted that great. I think taste will be a factor that will affect the price of hydroponic plants in the future. This week’s house dinner actually featured hydroponics grown, Cornell based lettuce in the salad and herb oil. The lettuce from the salad was grown in Greenhouse 130 light and the system that was used is the widely used system known as the Pond System.

The lettuce and other hydroponics based systems are being explored by students and faculty members. Specifically, one study is examining two different types of lighting used in the system: high pressure sodium which is the existing fixutre and the LED fixture which relays high specific lights and will predictably, overtake the high pressure sodium lighting for its efficiency.

Undergraduates who are interested in the field are encouraged to take Dr. Matson’s Indoor hydroponics class this spring semester. The class will involve lots of hands on experience, research opportunities, and interesting applications of hydroponics.

After this cafe, I am definitely amazed by the innovation in agriculture that is happening in this era. This cafe also inspired me to schedule a tour of the greenhouse at Cornell. There are tulips and poinsettias which could definitely be a plus for your Instagram!

Madame Toussads Hair Stylist

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Nicholas Carbonaro is a hair stylist based in Ithaca and this week at Rose Cafe, he gave some helpful tips and tricks for college students about self-care. His expertise really shined through as he gave advice to individuals specifically geared towards their haircare questions. Surprisingly, there was not a large difference in the number of female and male students who showed up to the event.

One question that I asked is how I can put in the least effort, least amount of money, and maintain the health of my hair (i.e. avoid bleaching and harsh chemicals) but add color to my hair as a change from the all-black natural hair that I currently have. He recommended that I try balayage. I decided to research more into this style and I discovered some interesting things. For instance, this style is also known as “painting” for its natural look, lightened highlight look. Leading experts recommend the balayage look for people with natural short hair that is curly/wavy in texture. This is the exact type of hair that I have (look below!)

Some other points that I found interesting is the economics behind hair dressing. For instance, Carbonaro explained why female haircuts are so price heavy, it’s because it takes longer for the stylist to cut the hair, and you are paying them hourly rather than by the amount of hair they are cutting. Also, I found out that many of the shampoo products that exist under large companies such as L’Oreal which have high end brands (salon luxury brands) and lower end brands (i.e. Garnier) use essentially the same ingredients. Finding the the shampoo and conditioner best suited for hair type is the key to maintaining healthy hair. Also, I found out that curly hair has more surface area exposed to the air/sun/environment which is why it easily gets damaged. So, conditioner is very important for everyone but especially people with curly hair.

Carbonaro also made the interesting connection between opportunity cost and self-care. People often complain about the high price of a good haircut, but they don’t realize the value or worth of the money. For instance, someone is willing to spend money on a night out partying, but when it comes to self-image, and self-care, they become very considerate about pricing. I guess the overall message was that life is about decisions, and self-image is something that should be valued highly especially in certain industries related to business which is what I am interested in.

Also, a side note, Carbonaro was the Madame Toussads artist who made Donald Trump wigs and he told us that they received over 100 page document of corrections to the Trump statue that they had created (even though, everyone would agree the statue looked like a replica of Trump)!

Cheffin it with Chef Hans

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This week’s discussion hosted one of our own staff members, Chef Hans. Though Chef Hans may look a little intimidating in his white chef suit and tall physique, he is actually one of the kindest, down-to-earth, humble people at Cornell. He explained how he started off working on a farm and recalled times when he pig roasted right in his house on the farm. He then decided to make the move to Cornell. He was very skeptical at first because he did not want to limit his cooking style and become a follower of the institutionalized meal plan recipes. In the beginning, Chef Hans worked in Bethe House under the cook there. He said he did exactly what he was afraid of doing–cooking out of cans and following recipes. Slowly, though, he began to let his passion shine through and motivated the workers to cut broccoli and cauliflower and onions rather than purchase prepackaged ones. He then moved on to Risley where he completely redesigned the menu. From there, Chef moved to Rose where he currently works today.

The Chef is adamant about three things: one, fresh foods over prepackaged/canned foods, two, creativity in foods, and three, employee morale. In regards to fresh foods, did you know that the Chef imports fresh seafood from Boston twice a week? The company catches the seafood and it is served within 3 days of catching it at Rose dinners. This news was completely new to me and really amazed me. No other place in the vicinity has the financial capabilities to order fresh seafood at large volumes and serve customers at reasonable prices. Chef Hans is also very experimental as he constantly brings innovation and fresh ideas to his menu. Tonight for instance, he decided to try making lamb belly although he’s never cooked with this meat before. Taking risks proved to be successful when he received positive feedback on his food. For instance, he realized that the employee was being stressed out when he/she was given the mundane job of making quaesadillas. And, the Chef realized that when they sit too long, the quaesadillas were becoming soggy and students were not very satisfied. So, Chef Hans decided to replace the quaesadillas with housemade salsas. This employee now enjoyed the benefits of having the ability to use his/her creativity while removing the stress of constantly making quaesadillas that were quickly becoming soggy. This is just one way how Chef Hans is able to boost employee morale and in effect, improve the overall quality of the food.

Disability Awareness on Campus

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This Rose Cafe was an engaging talk where lots of the students who came could deeply relate to the topic of disability. During the talk, we discussed an interesting concept about students who receive extra time during exams. Often, people look at these students and believe they are receiving an unfair advantage; however, that is not the case. Extra time simply allows people with disabilities to bridge the gap between them and students without disabilities, thus, this extra time makes students equal in a sense.

I could personally relate to this talk because my older sister Mona has down syndrome. Often, when I tell people this, their first reaction is a sympathetic look accompanied with an “awh” as if her disability is a negative barrier that prevents her being “normal.” Only people who get to know Mona realize quickly that her personable character, kind being, and smart thinking, make her a person anyone could easily relate to. Part of the movement to destigmatize disabilities is to realize the fact that disabilities are just physical or mental constraints or barriers that do not define an individual.

I am a transfer student from UC Berkeley which is the first school to accept a person with a disability. The institution is rooted in making the school accessible for all. One tactic they used which could easily be carried over to Cornell is a video about accessibility and extended time. They played this video during freshman orientation for all the new students to see. Short, informative, and catchy, the video was a perfect tool to educating the students.

Anonymous quizzes reveal residents’ troubles

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Professor Blalock successfully geared conversation among Rose Scholars during an event where we discussed our community. The underlying issue is the inequality in quality between the shoddy gothics and the bougie main house. How is it fair that students in gothics who are paying the same price as the students in the main house have to deal with a range of issues from not so necessary needs such as a lack of AC to ultimate necessities such as a lack toilet paper and shower curtains that do not cover the stalls appropriately? The Cafe discussion educated the students about the town’s laws regarding the gothics. Since the gothics are considered historical landmarks, Cornell is not allowed to demolish them. With no space and limited funds, the school is forced to continue to keep these dorms. The administrative people in charge of student dorms are not purposefully disregarding the needs of students in the gothics; rather, they have limited budgets that they must allocate accordingly. Pushing a student based request to gear more funds towards cleaning the gothics is the next step that we decided to take.  This initiative cannot change the budget, but it can persuade administration to change the budget allocation to ensure proper sanitary conditions for the students in gothics.

Something I found particularly intriguing about the Cafe was the use of an app to poll students anonymously. Due to Professor Blalock’s association with Flora Rose House, there was definitely some hesitation when he asked us what problems the students were facing in the dorms. The use of this technology disrupted all barriers and brought the truth to the forefront of the discussion.

Overall, it was a great Rose Cafe, and I look forward to attending more, especially the one where administration faculty who are in charge of the budget come to listen to the students concerns.