Author Archives: Sabrina

Gender and Transport?

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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.

Lettuce Eat!

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If I were to be honest I attended this Cafe just to fulfill the requirement but, I was pleasantly surprised that I attended because of all the effort that went into the Cafe as well as the topic. At dinner, I noticed the little pamphlets hydroponics that were spread out. As for the presentation, it was clear and the graduate student used every-day words to describe the processes used. I had been interested in hydroponics and I found it extremely cool as to how controlled the growth of the lettuce was. For example, researchers and farmers can easily optimize nutrient mixtures in the water, which would be the same for all the lettuce plants, and the amount of and kind of light that. I found it extremely cool how it was mentioned that the type of lighting can be controlled (turned to red) and red lettuce will turn green. From my limited biology knowledge, I think carotenoids are responsible for the red pigment found in plants while chlorophyll is responsible for the green pigment in plants. The colors we see are the color thats are being reflected (not absorbed) by the plant and, I guess, because red light is being emitted to the red lettuce (which the plant cannot use as that pigment is reflecting it), the green pigment comes into play.

Initially, I thought that hydroponic farming would be costly in terms of physical space that can be used  since my mom had a tiny little garden in our apartment where she would start saplings. I remember there being an entire corner of plants for her to soak and grow. But, this presentation noted that the space can be optimized which is important since due to our growing population, space is becoming limited.

Halloween and Bonding

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I had never actually attended a Table Talk before this one and really enjoyed it not only because it was Halloween but, because I got to interact with other Rose Scholars and GRF Seema. Interestingly, I never knew that Halloween was the second most commercialized holiday in the United States. I mean I was aware of the amount shopping that goes with costumes, decorations, candy, and parties but, I wasn’t entirely convinced. It is almost no surprise that Christmas is the most commercialized. Actually, in retrospect, I am kind of surprised that Halloween and Christmas don’t elicit the same amount of spending. Then again, we discussed at the Table Talk how many people do not celebrate Halloween as it was associated with the dead coming back. I personally know several people who wouldn’t let their children Trick or Treat or engage in any Halloween festivities and it was because of this idea that the dead were coming back.

I was aware of the Pagan holiday of Samhain but I didn’t know that there were Roman influences on the holiday. In addition, I found it amazing how the Celtic people would actually make the masks in order to scare the dead or make sure that the dead didn’t recognize them. These beliefs stemmed from the idea that after the harvest everything died for the winter, the times of cold, sickness, and death. Thus, this holiday could be thought of as a coping mechanism to be on terms that there is a dark age coming. The descendants of the Celtic people, the Irish, eventually came to the United States where the Halloween holiday became what it is today. After this Table Talk, I remembered seeing some old school, nightmare worthy costumes and decided to share(http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/creepy-halloween-costumes-gallery-1.2418269?pmSlide=1.2418256).

A Professional Makeover

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The Rose Cafe with Nicholas Carbonaro was extremely interesting and was a promise come true.  Professor Blalock promised more events on professional development and, through this event, he delivered. Going into the cafe, I was nervous because I thought that it would be an actual physical evaluation but, Nick’s friendly persona easily put me to ease. His easy-going nature and cute presentation was entertaining. I liked how he and the owner of his salon (?) opened up their business as a place where Cornell students could go and get the professional makeover they’re looking for.

Nick’s points about hair and taking care of one’s hair was extremely helpful. He was right in pointing out that, as college students, we shouldn’t be damaging our hair with bizarre colors or costly hair cuts that need to be maintained. It is true that one should get a trim every 6 months but, one should also care for one’s hair through certain products. Growing up in an South Asian family, we traditionally use coconut oil to “hydrate” our hair. I didn’t realize it until Nick mentioned that coconut on hot days actually starts to fry your hair. Now, I remember why I used to argue with my grandma about putting oil in my hair. Another suggestion I found extremely useful was braiding up your damp hair with silk ribbons and night to enhance wavy hair. I have wavy, almost bordering curly hair, and Nick’s suggestions for curly hair helped a lot. I think I’ll definitely pay him a visit for a consultation.

A Great Foodie Experience

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I know it’s a bit juvenile but I’ve been observing the different changes made to the dinner menus over the semester. During freshman year, I frequented the Risley Dining Hall many times and I found that they had some of the most amazing sauces. When I started to live at Rose House last year, I found that the food, many times, was very fresh and seemed home cooked in comparison to places like Bethe or Becker. It was also amazing to see the sheer amount of fish that the Rose Diner spouts out. I don’t think I’ve seen that much seafood other than at North Star. So, this Rose Cafe was a great experience to formally meet the man we have all seen walking near the dining hall.

Chef Hans made several important points and what I found the most amazing is that the kitchen actually takes notice of what is left off on our plates and make adjustments to our meals. Last year, I used to see small little empanadas on Taco Tuesday and I realized just recently that they’ve been switched out. I know for a fact that people are appreciating the switch because, otherwise, we wouldn’t have the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies around. Many would also notice that the quesadillas are gone which, Chef Hans described as being a very boring process  which yields to something that doesn’t necessarily taste good. Chef Hans also pointed out that we actually have fresh fish delivered to Rose due to a partnership and he orders fish two times a week.  As a result, finding clam chowder in Rose House is pretty common.

Another small point that Chef Hans made was that  he didn’t like having precut vegetables being served in Rose House. As a result, we see broccoli with a substantial amount of stalk attached to them unlike other dining halls. I’ve actually seen a lower frequency of packaged products being served at Rose House. For example, sure, the pies are bought but, we have cookies and brownies that are made very often. My parents and my boyfriend have visited Rose several times and they still find it an amazing eatery.

Some Law Experience

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Meeting Judge Scott Miller was a very unique experience. I guess it’s a bit odd but I was thinking of my younger brother who wants to be a lawyer as well. Instead of the serious and intimidating judge I was expecting, Judge Miller turned out to be a Cornellian who wanted to discuss some of his experiences with younger Cornellians. I think the fact that he refused to be applauded speaks volumes of the type of person he is. I expected a harsher individual, especially since he practices in criminal law. Instead, Judge Miller somehow came away from certain very dark and interesting cases (there was this one case discussed that could be one of the most interesting cases I’ll ever hear) as this optimistic and “bubbly” person. Perhaps, bubbly isn’t the right word. However, his enthusiasm struck me.

My little brother wants to be criminal lawyer as well and I was wondering how does all this darkness affect a person. Although I have been away from home too long to actually construct an idea of how he deals with negativity, Judge Miller’s example seems inspirational. In addition, Judge Miller provided a brief look into how legislation works or how the relationships around Tompkins County operate. The difficulties he has faced with certain rulings and his insight on the differences in role between a lawyer and judge.

A Promising Beginning

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It was an interesting beginning for this Rose Scholar’s Program. It was unfortunate that Dr. Hill couldn’t join us in the first Rose Cafe but it was definitely a good experience. I think having this type of town hall type meeting once in a while actually makes the students part of the Rose community. There are a lot of aspects of the maintenance of these dorms that we, as students, don’t know of such as how certain buildings are serviced. It was also very nice having Professor Blalock providing us background information on the gothics and how things are kind of run in the Rose House. His willingness to listen to requests such as thinking about providing  the bathrooms in the main house with larger shower curtains was something that struck me. The fact that the administrators of the house would go as far to provide a minor comfort to make sure students are satisfied is touching. This Rose Cafe also provided a way to bond with the other residents : the bond of certain issues that come with living in the gothics. Personally, I actually loved living in the gothics even with the minor inconveniences. However, this cafe reaffirmed that there were certain demands that were reasonable and they were put to rest at this session. Something else that I liked about this session was that there was an objective set for how to improve our experience at Rose House. The scholars were able to directly speak out about including certain professional development events, which are already put in place. I was withholding from writing for this specific event because I was waiting for some of the things that were going to be looked into to be put in action. I’m really happy to say that I’m really glad that our suggestions are being put to use. This Rose Cafe has definitely opened the doors to a more engaging semester at Rose.