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.
Category Archives: Other @ Rose
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
CPR Training and Certification
I thought that the CPR certification event was very efficient. When I heard that Rose was offering it as an event, I thought that it was one of the most practical ones that were offered. While all of the other events provided different experiences, the CPR training was very functional in its purpose.
I really enjoyed that the training was led by people that participated in CUEMS. It was nice being taught these skills by fellow students, because it helped to make the experience more of a conversation, rather than just being taught the process.
I had been CPR certified in the past and it was nice to get a refresher on the process. I was also able to get feedback from the people leading the class. I liked the fact that they taught us the process, keeping in mind that what we were learning might have a different context when at a college campus. Overall, I thought that the CPR training was a very good experience to have. It helped me to brush up on what I had learned before, and also helped to think of how it could be used in a college setting.
Save a Life
On Saturday, November 11th the Cornell EMS came to Rose House to offer a course in CPR to students. I saw this as an amazing opportunity to renew my CPR certification. I took a course in CPR in high school and knew it was a very rewarding experience. The instructor made the course entertaining and was willing to answer any and all questions that we had. I know that I would be able to perform emergency help on someone if needed after taking this course. I definitely recommend taking a CPR course to everyone because it is a great feeling to know that I could help save a life in an emergency. Additionally, it is an amazing skill that could even be included on a resume.
CPR
As a Pre-Med, I was always interested in getting my CPR certification. Just having the ability to aid someone in a life or death situation, is such a great gift. When Rose provided the chance for students to acquire their certification, I realized what an amazing opportunity this was. I participated in the session and gained my certification. It was a very valuable experience that I believe everyone should be offered. The EMS staff were very helpful and it inspired me to apply to become a part of their organization in the future. If you haven’t gotten certified, I highly recommend it!
Healthcare and its Connection to a Universal Right to Life
What I found most interesting about this table talk was that framing the discussion surrounding health in terms of whether or not health care is a right forces the dialogue about this highly controversial topic to focus on aspects of the issue that are perhaps too often ignored in policy debate. In one sense, this debate really could be seen as boiling down to one question: Are individuals who earn more or have higher standing in the labor market more deserving of high quality health care, or should all those residing in the U.S., no matter what their economic standing, be entitled to quality health care even if it could lead to, say, longer wait times to see a doctor? I do not mean to simplify a complex issue by posing this question, but I think that this question is far too often totally ignored in political rhetoric surrounding health care in the U.S. Sometimes it can be really easy to get wrapped up in political agendas and the intricacies of different policy solutions and ultimately forget where these agendas and solutions fall along a spectrum defined by answers to the aforementioned question. Also, the fact that this question is often brushed over in policy debate may offer some insight as to why health care is such a highly debated and divisive topic. I think that the fact that certain members of the population are not able to get the healthcare they need because of their socioeconomic background really plainly challenges notions of American self-help. While it may be easier to dismiss other social policy provisions by claiming that people need to help themselves and secure a quality of life they wish to have based on their own efforts or merits, individuals cannot heal or save themselves from chronic illness; access to healthcare is directly tied to individuals’ right to life in a way that really cannot be denied or ignored.
Also, the fact that what people believe constitutes a right, or what should be defined as a right, will ultimately impact whether or not they believe healthcare is a right was something I had not considered before. Reflecting back on this discussion, I think that the discussion we had reveals the power or genius of the U.S. Constitution, and its intentional vagueness that allows it to be applied to new circumstances. While the Constitution does not guarantee a right to healthcare, it does guarantee the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Thus, when healthcare is being denied in a way that denies individuals life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness, it could certainty be said that an individual’s rights are being denied.
Yoga: A Great Way to Start the Morning
Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to began my morning with Rose’s yoga event. The event introduced me to a variety of new yoga stretches and exercises that were not only a good workout, but were very relaxing. At one point in our yoga routine, we did the shavasana pose for some period of time, which I found to be a great way to release stress and simply relax instead of thinking about one pressing issue or another. One of the plus points of the yoga session was that we had an enthusiastic teacher, who critiqued are poses and was cheerful and jovial. One of the shortcomings of the event, however, was that it was quite easy to get distracted by the ambiance: surrounding dining hall, people looking in from outside and the dining hall, music played by the instructor etc. Given the importance that ambiance and environment would seemingly play in the spiritual and physical aspects of yoga, the location really didn’t make much sense. Maybe this can be fixed by moving the event to a more secluded space, like the Rose seminar room in the first floor? Ultimately though, for me, the yoga experience was a great way to clear my head and prepare for the upcoming and busy days. For me, it seems clear that yoga can have innumerable health and spiritual benefits when done properly. I’d recommend for anyone who hasn’t tried the weekly Rose yoga series (or yoga of any form before) to at least give it a shot!
Heart-Saver CPR
I have been looking to find a place at Cornell where I could renew my CPR certification for the last few years, though I didn’t look very hard. However, I was very pleased when I realized that Charlotte had conveniently scheduled classes for us to be up to date on how to provide assistance should someone need CPR in the vicinity. It never hurts to be prepared for unfortunate events.
This was my third time attending a CPR class and I found there was still more for me to learn about how CPR works physiologically. I was unaware that the body already contains enough oxygen for compressions to be effective even if you are unable to give breaths to the unresponsive party. Another thing that caught my attention was the mention, by EMS, of how we should not follow the instructions on the posters set up around the dinning halls when it comes to helping someone in need.
I think one effective way of not needing these posters up to begin with is training the dinning hall staff in the correct procedures for dealing with these emergencies because they are always present. Therefore, you have trained people available for any choking incident in case help is needed. This would optimize the chances that the correct procedures are followed and people don’t get hurt.
Self Awareness
I was very psyched for the opportunity to attend such a conveniently scheduled yoga class with a very qualified instructor, hosted by Rose House. With the constant stress we have trying to manage our course load, I think it is fair to say that we have a tendency to disregard our physical, mental, and spiritual health. Attending this class, and hopefully those hosted in the future, is what I consider a step in the right direction in addressing this issue.
In my sporadic and irregular yoga practices, I have still found that the sometimes physically challenging poses we try to maintain during yoga practice can lure my mind away from other stressors in my day-to-day life. It’s really difficult to stress about the next assignment deadline when you are simply trying not to fall in front of everyone, or maintain composure if you just so happen to do so. Being able to detach from school for that short period of time allowed me to go about my day with a more positive attitude and definitely a better mood.
Rather than focusing on the next exam or next project deadline, I was able to focus on the benefits of taking care of myself.
Rest and Relaxation through Yoga
This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to a yoga session. The instructor led us through a Vinyasa flow sequence and we did a variety of poses that help with stress relief. During prelim season, it was a really nice way to begin my Saturday which I normally devote to studying by taking time to purposely relax. The deep breathing helped calm me down and feel better overall and allowed me to not have to focus on prelims, projects, and papers for a little bit. The stretching was also helpful after carrying around my backpack all week and stressing about work, it was great to be able to release some of the tension in my body. The music the instructor used had lots of supportive mantras in it like “I am perfect the way I am” which I thought was a nice way to bring good thoughts into the experience and also added to the positive experience.
Couldn’t relax
Last Saturday, I attended the first Yoga at Rose event and to be honest, I was disappointed. This was my first actual yoga class. I think the only other time I sort of did yoga was a ten minute mindfulness session in my high school gym where we were stretching and breathing along with random teachers. I thought that was more relaxing.
Perhaps I was too in my head for a lot of it, but I didn’t feel the relaxing benefits people usually think about when it comes to yoga. It wasn’t that I was distracted by my typical worries about school and life. My thoughts were just not as free as I thought they would be.
I wanted to relax, but something about the class and atmosphere was somehow unsettling to me. Perhaps it was the speed of some of the motions. I didn’t feel like I was extending or stretching some parts of my body fully when doing them and it felt rushed, which definitely didn’t help my mind relax. I wasn’t feeling the warrior poses, which seem kind of quintessential yoga, and I don’t think technically my alignment was off, but the instep of one of my feet got progressively sorer throughout the motions.
Perhaps the most distracting thing was what the instructor kept saying during the whole session. At one point, she said something about astrology – I can’t even remember what she said about it – the mention of the word astrology was shocking itself. Eagle pose supposedly helps clear out the lymph nodes. Every single thing we did was qualified as good stress relief. The music sounded kind of campy. The constant sounds from the dining hall and people looking in and making comments was also distracting.
I don’t know what exactly it was, but I didn’t leave feeling any more relaxed. At the beginning, I truly had the best intentions of spending part of my Saturday settling into my body and centering myself, but I just couldn’t relax in that space. I wish I had a better experience with the yoga class. In terms of relaxation, this is something I probably won’t be doing again soon.
Yoga at Rose
As someone who has never gone to a yoga class, the prospect of doing yoga at Rose was a little daunting. I don’t consider myself flexible at all, and memories of trying to do yoga through the Wii Fit when I was around ten years old kept flashing back. Although I’ve always known that yoga is a good way to get exercise into my week, it has never appealed to me enough to actually attempt a class. So I decided that I was going to the yoga event to check it out and get any doubts that I had out of my head.
Granted, my lack of flexibility did come into play in the session, but it wasn’t the big deal that I had made it out to be in my head. I might have not been able to do some of the poses as well as others, but I got there eventually. It was surprisingly relaxing to go through the motions, and I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would.
I came out of the class feeling refreshed and actually ready to start my day. I think it would be nice to try yoga out another time, and maybe even incorporate it into my weekly routine. I came out of this event having much more positive feelings about yoga, and I hope to feel the same way with even more of the future events.
Sketching on Saturday
Orig posted 10/23/17
Last Saturday, I had the pleasure to join Seema and Sam on a sketching activity in the Arts Quad. Seema, who studies in AAP taught us the basics of one-point and two-point perspective drawing. She managed to make something essentially complicated seem very simple within a five minute explanation.
It was a wonderful time with the weather perfect, providing an opportunity to sit on the grass and hear the marching band in the distance in preparation for Homecoming. The environment repealed any worry and was purely relaxing, my roommate and I had not even a worry about what time it was. Overall, I truly enjoyed this opportunity as it gave me a break I truly needed after another stressful week at Cornell. I hope there can be more like this in the future (even with winter coming ahead!).
Rest and Relaxation in a High Stress Environment
This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a yoga class brought to Rose House for the day. Throughout the class, the instructor repeatedly reminded us, “don’t forget to breathe!” It struck me how apt that statement was, not just in the context of yoga, but in my daily life at Cornell. Often it is so easy to begin drowning in work that we forget to take time for ourselves, come to the surface, and breathe. In doing so, we “hold our breaths” in a way that simply makes our responsibilities more asphyxiating. However, being given the opportunity to step away from my responsibilities for about an hour and relax, listening to my body instead of my mind (and my planner) was incredibly valuable. Afterward, I felt energized and much less stressed out than usual. It was as if I could feel the stress physically leaving my body throughout the session (which is aim of mindfulness and yoga, I suppose), leaving me at a much more healthy stress level when the session concluded.
Yoga for the soul
This was the first time I’ve ever done any yoga — and it was great! The instructor was so patient and helpful. She told us to listen to our bodies and no to do anything uncomfortable. Some poses my body did not like, but I did them anyways because I wanted to try it. I’m glad I didn’t choose to sleep in on a precious Saturday to go to yoga. I’ve been so stressed lately and honestly, while doing yoga I felt so relaxed. At the end when we were in the resting pose, I nearly fell asleep (I actually might have). She also gave us tips on how we could relieve stress on our own with simple yoga poses. Even if these do not count as rose scholar events anymore, I will probably sign up again if time permits! I even bought a yoga mat recently because of how inspired I was.
Commercialization of holidays
Last week I attend the table talk about Halloween in Rose dining hall. What really attracts me about this table talk is the commercialization of holidays. I felt no surprise to hear that Americans spent the second highest amount of money in Halloween, which is only lower that Christmas. Even though I am a foreigner, I understand that people regard this day as an opportunity to dress up, have candies, spend happy time with families and friends. What is particularly interesting is that we can think about nowadays, whether the main content of holidays becomes consuming. For example, in China, Halloween is absolutely not a traditional holiday as it is in America. However, I know that not to mention in metropolitan cities, like Beijing and Shanghai, even in tiny cities like my Hometown, in Halloween/Christmas or other holidays in western world, businessmen have all their advertisements to encourage people to purchase their products and celebrate the holiday. Maybe commercialization of holidays is not necessarily a bad thing as some people think, but it is definitely a kind of phenomenon worth thinking.
Halloween!
Last week I attended a table talk discussing the history of Halloween. I think it’s extremely interesting that Halloween is the second biggest commercial holiday (the first being Christmas), but not at all surprising considering the amount of candy and costumes Americans purchased every year. It also made me think about how America (and other countries too I’m sure) commercializes holidays. For example, Christmas is a holiday of religious significance, and while a lot of families still go to church and celebrates Christmas for what it means, there are plenty of other families who partake only in the getting together with family, exchanging gifts, etc part of Christmas. Similarly, in this table talk, we learned that Halloween had religious significance in the past, but now, it’s simply a “spooky” holiday filled with costumes and candy and a lot of fun for both adults and children.
In my opinion, I think it’s pretty cool that America has Halloween, and it definitely gives everyone an excuse to dress up and have fun, but it’s also pretty cool learning about the history behind it with GRF Seema, because that was something I hadn’t considered much before. But also, through the discussion, I feel like Halloween is a holiday that is actually quite unique in America (I don’t think anyone else enjoys it as much as we does!) and though I’m too busy and probably too old for Halloween festivities nowadays, it’s still cool to see everyone’s different costumes last week.
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.
Halloweekend!
During table talk, we discussed the origin of Halloween and its relevance in today’s society. Halloween began as a pagan holiday in Ireland almost 2,000 years ago. How did this holiday become consumed by commercialism? Halloween today is second only to Christmas in terms of expenses. I personally celebrate Halloween and go all out in buying candy, decorations, and costumes. However, I was surprised to hear how some people don’t celebrate Halloween at all. In the end, we all came to realize that Halloween can be a time for celebration and unity.
This is Halloween
Last Monday, I attended the Table Talk about the history of Halloween. It began as a pagan holiday, and continued to evolve under the Catholic Church as All Hallows’ Eve in conjunction with All Saints’ Day. What I found most interesting was the more recent history of Halloween in the United States, where it has become an enormous consumer holiday (second only to Christmas) and Americans spend billions of dollars on candy and costumes every year. With some of the people around me, I ended up discussing the nature of commercial holidays in the US, and how even religious observances such as Christmas and Easter have, for many people, developed into almost secular celebration centered around gift giving and Easter egg hunts, respectively. GRF Seema brought her own experiences into the discussion, suggesting that Halloween is celebrated so extravagantly because Americans have relatively few annual festivals, whereas in India there are festivals and holidays throughout the year.
Respect to Commercialization
Halloween comes around every year, with costumes and candy galore. Parties are prevalent and everyone gets the opportunity to become someone else for the night. I trick or treated every year for a long time. It became almost like a mission, there were tools and strategies. It took stamina, speed, and determination. At table talk we discussed among many topics, that not everyone has heard of Halloween. In other areas of the world their is no Halloween. Different festivals fall around the same time as Halloween. Mexico’s day of the dead and other harvest festivals just to give an example. There are different traditions around Halloween, but many see it as the day where the dead are closest to this world, which is where the idea of the Halloween festival began with the Celtics. Halloween is far from a festival to remember and protect ourselves from the dead. Commercialization has swept through the holidays, and Halloween was not spared.
Halloween and Bonding
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).
Halloween and its relevance in today’s society
During Table Talk today, we talked about the history of Halloween and its relevance in today’s world. A tradition originated by the Celtic people 2,000 years ago in Ireland, it’s still a part of today’s traditions. It was interesting to hear of different people’s experiences with it growing up. Some didn’t celebrate it, while others participated in town festivals dedicated to the 31st of October. It was also cool to see how many people relate it to happy memories with family and friends, much like my own experience. Overall, I learned that for years, Halloween has been a celebration that brings people together, in their love for scary things and candy.
Genetically Modified Salmon
Last week I had the chance to sit down with Tyler and a few Rose Scholars to discuss the impact of genetically modified salmon in the Canadian market. Before I walked into the dining hall room, I had read the recommended article and started to formulate my opinion on the topic. Initially, I was not in favor of genetically modifying animals such as salmon. I thought the idea of altering the genetic code of animals is a slippery path, but I was curious to hear others’ opinion.
When I sat down with the group, I heard the different arguments for genetically modified salmon and realized that this food source will be eventually viewed as genetically modified crops. Initially, consumers like myself will have the idea that genetically modified organisms are unnatural. However, it is important to note that animals are currently being injected with chemicals harmful to consumers. I believe that if companies selling genetically modified salmon are priced lower than their natural counterparts, people will respond to the incentives and purchase the salmon.
I enjoyed this discussion with the other Rose Scholars and it was interesting to hear everyone’s opinions. I thought our discussion on the environmental risk of introducing genetically modified salmon was particularly interesting. In conclusion, while genetically modifying animals could present new opportunities, it could also disrupt the natural ecosystem.
Table Talks: History of Halloween
Table Talk about the History of Halloween came right on time! It was wonderful talking to everyone at the table about the different versions of Halloween in different countries. We learned about the start of Halloween began with the Celtics tribe putting food outside their door to keep the dead from coming into their homes. They would also use masks to go outside to hide from death! During the Medieval Era, people would give homeless beggers food in exchange for them praying on behalf of the person’s dead loved ones. I thought it was so cool to see the transition of beliefs into a holiday that Americans spend roughly 6 billion dollars on every year. I am so excited for Halloween, now that I know the history behind the holiday!
My Online Persona
After attending a Rose Mini Seminar with GRF Sam, I learned how valuable an online persona would be in a professional setting. Not only does it allow me to advertise myself to potential employers and networks, it allows me to build the image I want people to see me as. Sam went through things such as basics, biographies, usernames, and following patterns. Using all the information he gave us, the class was able to “build” who they wanted to be online.
COnsidering that I do not use social media often and all my social media is private, the session really got me thinking of whether or not I should actually pursue making profiles on various platforms. In the end, I decided not to do it right now because I am too busy to keep up with it; and keeping up with posts is one thing Sam said is essential to successfully creating an online persona.
GMO Soybeans and Salmon
The world’s population is expected to grow to 9 billion by 2050. A significant challenge in sustaining this population would be ensuring a steady, secure supply of food. Genetically modified organisms have already been proven to be a useful tool in reaching higher levels of agricultural efficiency. Although I am in favour of the use of genetically modified crops, I believe that the management of this technology could be more efficient.
A really popular example would be Roundup Ready soybeans, developed by Monsanto. Farmers originally used herbicides other than glyphosate to manage weeds on their farms, since glyphosate also affected the crops that were grown. However, with roundup ready soybeans, the genome had been modified to include a gene that encoded for a glyphosate-tolerance enzyme. This allowed farmers to use glyphosate, without worrying about the negative consequences it may have on yield. Additionally, glyphosate is considered relatively safer than other herbicides. It also reduced the effort required to manage weeds or prepare fields for crops.
However, the introduction of this technology also had consequences. Naturally, more farmers chose to buy Roundup Ready soybeans, as it was a safer, more efficient alternative. Since Monsanto had patented Roundup Ready soybeans, it was the only supplier of these seeds. This led to a single company having a monopoly of the seed market, for soybeans. The company was able to inflate the prices. Additionally, farmers were not allowed to save seeds for the next growing season, forcing them to buy new ones next year. Another issue would be that since glyphosate would not affect the crops, there might be excessive use of the herbicide to ensure that that there is no growth of weeds.
The issues surrounding transgenic salmon are pretty similar. It would have the benefits of increasing the amount of salmon production, which would meet the current demands more effectively than fishing. There are issues that would have to be resolved/thought about: management of the waste produced by the fish, the ethics of aquaculture and the monopolisation of the salmon industry (Which would affect relatively small-scale businesses).
Overall, genetically modified organisms have the potential to increase the efficiency of food production. However, the management of these crops or animals could be improved or regulated to prevent damage to the environment or the formation of monopolies.
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.
Drawing in Perspective
I like drawing, though my style is a bit unorthodox. Typically when drawing a scene, you start out with general shapes and then progressively get more detailed. This helps you get the proportion of the objects in your scene right, while allowing you a lot of blank space to add details. For some reason, I always focus on one little thing, like the column of a building, and draw it out in the most detail as I can, then move on the the next object in the scene.
On Saturday, Seema and Sam took me and a few other Rose Scholars out to draw on the Arts Quad. Seema is getting her Ph. D. in the Department of City and Regional Planning, so naturally her drawing turned out well. She demonstrated the difference between two point and one point perspective drawings, which seemed particularly applicable when drawing buildings, like those on the Arts Quad. I drew Goldwin Smith Hall from a one point perspective, with the North side of the building going further back into the page and thus getting a little smaller.
It worked well, but I have to admit I resorted to old habits pretty quickly. I don’t get to draw very often, so when I do, I am prone to doing it in my usual style. Next time I’m drawing buildings, I will try to stick to the way Seema introduced, and hopefully my buildings will look more to scale with all the other parts of the scene. Also, trees. I really need to work on my trees.
GMO Salmon and the Environment
Last Monday I attended the Table Talk about the impact of GMO Animals. Admittedly, this is a topic that I know very little about. I am not very uneducated about the more scientific side of genetically modified foods, but I know enough to hold the opinion that they are a largely positive thing. Upon reading about genetically modified animals, however—specifically salmon—I was immediately a little bit skeptical.
As a self-described environmentalist, my first concern always lies in how something could negatively impact the global ecosystem. Introducing a fish to the environment that grows twice as fast could have potentially devastating effects on the entire food web surrounding it. After voicing this concern, however, I was informed that the company pioneering the effort to make these genetically engineered fish has put in many different precautions to prevent this exact scenario. The eggs are produced in a completely different hemisphere from the farm itself, and they are also triploid which effectively renders them sterile. Additionally, the farm is in central Panama, away from the coast. In the small chance that one were to escape the facility, it wouldn’t be able to reach the ocean anyway.
This fear assuaged, my next concern was for the fish themselves. What are the conditions like at these farms? Are the fish treated fairly? Though information is difficult to find, it seems (to me, at least) safe to assume that the answer is no. The industry standard not just for fish but meat tends to be sub-optimal for the animals. This is less a qualm with the genetically engineered salmon than it is for the food industry as a whole, however.
Despite this, I do hope that the GMO salmon reach the global market. They are a much more sustainable solution for getting protein, as other protein sources (especially beef) come with a huge carbon footprint. If used correctly, this could not only be a win for the reduction of overall emissions, but for the movement to end world hunger too. Unfortunately, the fact that these salmon have taken upwards of twenty years (and counting!) to reach US supermarkets makes me wonder if this might just be wishful thinking on my part.
Transgenic Salmon and the Future of Genetic Engineering
Last Monday GRF Tyler Moeller led a discussion about the recent approval of transgenic salmon into the Canadian food supply. The technology behind the salmon is nothing novel, overly innovative, or exceptional with regards to other achievements in the field of biological engineering, and the fish themselves that have been modified to grow at twice the rate as wild type salmon have existed for over 2 decades. Why then are we only just seeing the introduction of these fish in 2017 (and not in the US despite established FDA safety clearance)? To me this is a classic example of the tiring over-regulation and bureaucracy that exist around genetically engineered food that force applied progress in this field to a painstakingly slow crawl. The time, money, and overall process required for regulatory approval is not justified from a scientific standpoint (see Conko et al., 2016 in Nature Biotechnology for an excellent overview on the backward nature of the bureaucracy surrounding regulatory approval of genetically engineered foods in this country), and for me, the salmon we discussed are just another long overdue step in the development of our food system that is increasingly demanding a more diversified, accessible, and economical food supply that in turn must grow and adapt to not just the needs of the consumer but even more so to long-term sustainability.
There is a global shortage of salmon (see report from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] for more information) that is causing large increases to the global price of salmon, and as a result, there is now a greater incentive to turn to natural sources of salmon to meet the present demand. Exploiting natural areas that proliferate with wild salmon in an attempt to meet the global demand will not be sustainable in the long term, and as is the case for a variety of other species, over-harvesting will lead to a loss of population biodiversity and overall species vitality. The genetically engineered salmon represent a high-throughput method of salmon production that can help alleviate pressures on wild populations to prevent over-harvesting and the subsequent harm to species biodiversity.
Advances in human civilization have always been met with similar advances in food production to address food security for a species ever-growing in population and complexity. The demand for salmon will not decrease in the near future, and genetically engineered salmon should be seen as the next step in the intensification of our food production system that must occur to satisfy consumer demand in a sustainable manner.
Enjoying the Arts Quad while Sketching
Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of going to the arts quad to draw some of the buildings and learn more about sketching techniques. When we first got to the arts quad, we were given a brief overview on how to use perspective. Two and one point vanishing point techniques were shown before we picked what we wanted to draw and began. As someone who took a lot of art classes in high school and occasionally paints now in college, I liked having the refresher and tips before I began sketching buildings. For my drawing, I chose to draw the edifice of Goldwin Smith. At the end, it was really interesting to see how different people captured similar parts of the campus in their own style.
The event was a really nice chance to enjoy the fall beauty and to take a few hours to relax during a busy period of the school year. I personally find drawing to be a good way to come to a place of peace because it requires such a focus on technique and the subject. Having the opportunity to enjoy a warm, sunny morning outside getting lost in art was a very enjoyable experience
Gaining Perspective: Saturday Sketching on the Arts Quad
It was a stunning morning on the Hill as a small group of Rose Scholars climbed to the Arts Quad for a sketching expedition. Most of us didn’t have any real art experience, but GRF Seema gave us a crash course in perspective drawing, and we found a comfortable spot in the grass from which to sketch one of the beautiful buildings surrounding the Arts Quad.
From what little I know about sketching, the most complicated images are built of fundamental shapes. This is at least what perspective sketching is all about: giant diamonds are formed when lines connect the furthest forward part of a building with the “vanishing points” far off to the sides. In theory, every 3d object around us has an underlying geometric simplicity. But sitting in front of a building like Goldwin Smith Hall—which you don’t realize is so complicated until you try to draw it—it’s hard to see those simple diamonds behind the columns, the different shapes of windows, the trees that block parts of the building, the many different contours of the roof…
You just can’t get started if you let yourself get distracted by all of the minutia, and you can’t even depict the minutia if you don’t have a stable base. The base was the hardest for me to see, and it took me so long that I only finished half of Goldwin Smith in the time I had to sketch. It did look like Goldwin Smith in the end, though (unfortunately I don’t have a picture of my work; we turned it over to Seema when we left).
Perhaps there’s a wider lesson to be learned from sketching: the patience it takes to see the big picture is how we can perceive the details without them becoming warped. Perhaps this is what a liberal arts education is all about. In my first year and a half here at Cornell, I’ve learned about electric flux, modern Egyptian history, the energy of photons, property law, Gregorian chant, thermodynamics, and the list goes on. Yet I always find myself connecting these classes in the most unlikely of ways so that I achieve an even better understanding of the world around me than I could with full immersion into one of these fields. It’s the perspective that makes the difference.
Drawing Goldwin Smith Hall
This past weekend I attended the “Sketching Event,” where each of us picked a building on the arts quad and attempted to draw it. I was unsure about signing up for this event because (1) I am far from anything that could be considered artistic, and (2) because I have never been one to enjoy at least trying to draw—I simply find it frustrating. However, I’m very glad I decided to attend this event. It was decidedly casual and fun, and it was a very pleasant and relaxing way to start my Homecoming weekend.
Half-jokingly, I asked the GRAs which building was the easiest to draw because of my lack of skill. They suggested drawing the side of Uris Library since it was mostly just boxes. After contemplating this for a few minutes, I ended up choosing to try to draw Goldwin Smith Hall instead; Uris, while simpler, was much less aesthetically interesting, and I thought it would be fun to try to capture the trees and plants around Goldwin Smith, even if the end result didn’t actually look like the scene in real life. I ended up really enjoying myself. In letting go of any expectations of what my drawing both could and should be, I was able to enjoy the process much more. Before I even realized what had happened, and hour and a half had flown by. In this way, I really do think that it’s valuable to students—especially those in entirely unrelated fields—to force themselves to tackle artistic projects every once in awhile. It truly does challenge you in a completely different way from science-heavy classes, and I feel better and more well-rounded as a person for having pushed myself to the event and try something out of my comfort zone.
Another You
Before entering college, my entire online presence consisted of my (rather empty) Facebook profile. I didn’t really see any reason to be an active online citizen, since I preferred in-person or more private means of communication. Even since coming to Cornell, I just barely created a LinkedIn profile. However, after attending this seminar, its clear how important an online personality is. For perspective employers, this is often their first point of contact with you. While it may seem unfair when you can’t talk to these people yourself, there is actually an advantage. That is, you have complete control over your online personality. Aside from keeping everything true, you control the tone and attitude you project online. Therefore, it is extremely important to develop a strong and consistent online personality across multiple platforms, and I plan to do so moving forward.
Hello LinkedIn
So I decided to choose this talk because, honestly, my LinkedIn is a mess and since we’re in college I figured this talk would most definitely address it. And it did! GRF Sam talked about safety and presentation online. He addressed how our profiles should have a consistent presence across social media platforms to promote consistency and a sense of professionalism. When we did get to LinkedIn, as I knew we inevitably would, I learned tips such as once you’ve been established, a little thank you to an event invitation goes a long way. I also learned that apparently, people have personal websites to promote themselves and their social media accounts. I think that’s the most you can do to present yourself professionally. I’m not sure whether I’ll do that yet, but thanks to this talk I’m grateful to have learned of the option!
GMOs and public fears
In the table talk, we talked about GMO animals and how that may have more of a place in our lives in the near future now that GMO salmon is officially coming on to the market. I personally don’t eat meat, so I’m not much of a stakeholder in the field of GMO animals, but I can definitely see how this can impact all of us.
The appeal of GMO salmon (and GMO animals in general) is that the animals can be raised fast (they grow faster), and so can be sold cheaper. So, that may mean cheaper/more accessible meat for the public. However, the concerns: some people don’t know if there are any long term side-effects to eating GMO produce, and some worry that it may mess up the livelihood of fish farmers, etc. My own concerns doesn’t really involve either of those–GMO produce can’t possibly be any worse than what we are currently pumping/injecting into our livestock now, and produce farmers, whether it be cattle, fish, or chicken–are usually all employed by one single big corporation anyways–my concern revolves around the environment and how this change can adversely impact it. GMO farming doesn’t make farming livestock any more sustainable, just faster. And faster is not better, it just means more can be produced in less time. GMO farming doesn’t improve the lives of the livestock animals–farmed salmon will still be farmed salmon, living in small, cramped, unclean spaces, but GMO farming would encourage even more of that to happen, because more salmon would be produced. People, motivated by cheap salmon, will buy more salmon (or at least buy the same amount), which doesn’t help the carbon footprint of eating meat at all. In the very end, the big corporations that are creating and distributing these GMO salmons are making a lot of money, but the animals suffer, and the environment suffers. GMO farming can have a lot of potential, but when money is involved, things usually aren’t done in the interests of everyone involved; just in the interest of the person who gets the money. So–maybe it’s a good idea, maybe it’s not–it’s interesting to see where this will take us.
Animal Exploitation for Profit, part 9384758375
At the monday table talk, we discussed the implications of genetically engineered farm animals. Recently, a company has started selling salmon that has been genetically modified to grow twice as quickly as normal salmon. Genetically engineered plants have been on the market for years, but animals have not yet been sold in the United States. According to one of the scholars, the term “GMO” is not a technical term, as even selectively bred plants can be seen as “genetically modified.” We spent a great deal of time discussing whether GMO meat will have to be labeled as such, and whether it should be labeled as such. I agree with the scholar who stated that even if GMO products wouldn’t need to be labeled, anyone producing non-GMO foods will label their own products as “non-GMO” because it is a selling point for them. Of all of the ideas, this made the most sense to me, as you can see it in trends involving current food products. Fruit grown with pesticides aren’t labeled as “pesticide-grown,” but pesticide-free products are labelled as “organic.” Generally foods that appeal to these “conscious” consumers are labeled with whatever unusual selling point – vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, free range – instead of the other way around, due to the financial incentive for the producers. Someone mentioned that all GMO products will be legally required to be labeled as such, but if even QR-codes would suffice as “labels,” I think it is still likely that animal farmers will begin selling their products with GMO-free labels in order to clearly differentiate their food products
One topic that I would have liked to have discussed more is the idea of animal welfare and GMO’s. I am opposed to the creation of genetically engineered farm animals not because of health concerns, but because of the implications for animals’ wellbeings. The creation of GMO farm animals will only make animal agriculture more popular and more prevalent, resulting in more animals suffering and dying for human consumption. In addition, the genetic modifications made will be whatever results in the most profit for the producers, without taking into consideration how they might add to the suffering of the animals. For example, growing at twice their normal rate is likely physically painful and mentally traumatizing for the salmon in the article, but this is irrelevant to the fish farmers, who only care about how this makes their production cheaper.
Online Persona
Last week I went to a seminar where we talked about to to cultivate your online persona. As a premed bio major, I haven’t really had to use websites such as LinkedIn or Handshake because I can find internships/other extracurriculars through other means. Still, I thought that it was really important for me to at least be aware about how I should present myself online, and I’m really glad that I went because I learned a lot! For example, I didn’t know that you could use Twitter/ Facebook professionally. Sometimes in interviews for jobs/internships, employers will ask you questions about relevant topics in your field. You can use Twitter to follow important figures in your field so that you can answer any questions that they might have. Also, I think that social media is a big part of our daily lives, so it makes sense to use it in order to further your career professionally. We hear so many stories of someone posting something terrible on social media and then getting fired because of it, and so it’s really important to make sure that your social media stays professional, at least publicly. This seminar was really useful and I’m really glad that I went!
The Key to LinkedIn
The main intention of this seminar was to help students recognize the uses of professional online media and give us helpful hints and tricks toward our online presence. For me, LinkedIn is the main site that I think of that is closely connected to a professional online social media. Towards the end of the seminar GRF Sam had everyone write a personal bio for a platform of their choosing and present it to the group. I really enjoyed this portion as I was able to get helpful feedback and encouragement towards my writing. Additionally, I was given inspiration by hearing the statements of other students. This was my first professional advice seminar and I really enjoyed it. GRF Sam made it comfortable to ask questions and voice my opinion out loud. I would definitely recommend a similar seminar to other students looking for a general introduction into the online professional world!
GMOs: The Next Step of Selective Breeding?
This week’s table talk on GMOs in meat was really interesting. This past week I actually had a lecture in FDSC 2000 on regulation of GMOs in food and different methods of gene transfer. With all of the background, both from previous knowledge learned in class and from the suggested reading for the talk, it was interesting how everyone had slightly different opinions on how GMOs should be introduced to general consumers and what it should be used for. I was amazed that some people didn’t think GMOs should be labeled partly because it could hurt their introduction financially and partly because it would be contradictory to label GMOs and not other forms of selective breeding. To me, it had always seemed the obvious choice for GMOs to be labelled for transparency’s sake, so it was really eye-opening to hear why people thought they shouldn’t be labeled.
It was also interesting to talk about all the possible implications of expanding GMOs to animals and not just plants, now that genetically modified salmon are approved by the FDA to be sold in the United States. There are so many recent changes to GMO policy with the introduction of GMO salmon being approved for sale and the requirement of GMOs being labeled in the United States that it was just great to talk about these changes and how people felt about it.
Marketing for the non-major
GRF Sam gave a pretty thorough presentation on the many platforms and methodologies that should be employed to create a market-friendly online persona. After the presentation, I went straight to my LinkedIn and fleshed it out beyond the default grey profile picture and student at x description. I didn’t realize just how valuable social media is, I knew it was a truth of life in the theoretical sense 2+2 = 4 is, but physically attending this seminar helped to make concrete the influence a lack of a proper social media presence can have on my future and goals. In fact, because of this seminar I’m trying to develop more social media for my very lowly idea of a business that I want to develop. A business develops through interest by possible consumers, not simply the capital or technical skills residing in the business it self, which I feel gets lost in the creation of small businesses.
Creating a Online Professional Persona
Last week I attended the mini-seminar on creating an online professional persona. Given that I’m starting to think about applying to graduate schools, I’ve been wanting to develop my online presence to suit this purpose. This seminar was really ideal for what I had in mind.
In the seminar, GRF Sam discussed the ways in which you could use social media for professional purposes, as well as more mainstream professional networking sites like linkedin or academia.edu. He also gave instruction about how to write professional bios, and which kinds of information and phrasing might be appropriate depending on the site. Bio writing is something I always struggle with, so it was great to get some direct tips and feedback from Sam about my content. I also learned that academia.edu is more suited to my needs than linkedin, which was a really valuable piece of information. For me, it was great to get professional advice like this from someone who was more familiar with academia as opposed to other sectors. In this way, the seminar was really suited to my needs.
Overall, I found the seminar helpful, and have been equally satisfied with other seminars on related professional development topics I have attended at Rose in the past. I have found these events to be very valuable and strongly recommend others check them out in the future.
How can a shy person create an online persona??
Through this activity, I started thinking more about the value in creating a strong online persona to connect to academic peers and prospective employers. At the end of the talk everyone who attended wrote and read aloud a short description of themselves that they might use online. I realized through this activity that I am a generally private person, so it’s hard for me to want to share my interests with other people. My description turned out really bland as a result. I think that being a shy person always makes interviews and self-promotion difficult.
After this experience I realized that I need to practice explaining my interests in the hopes that in the future I will be able to express myself both online and offline to peers, colleagues, and potential employers. While it’s important to be humble I also think that I owe it to myself to put my best foot forward. I’m going to try writing a description of my achievements and interests without the intention of ever sharing it as a way of encouraging myself to produce a fuller description of myself. This description could then be modified and used online or in an interview. I also plan on updating my LinkedIn to showcase more of my achievements and to develop my own website to share my work and my perspective.
Stress Less
Last week I attended my first Rose Table Talk. The topic was stress management. It was helpful to hear management strategies from GRF Seema and many other fellow Cornellians. This event was different from any other event I have attended this semester. There was less structure so I was able get to know some of my fellow rose scholars. The diverse group made for an even more eye opening discussion. We represented many different majors and ethic groups. The more we shared stories I found that we all were a part of different clubs and student organizations on and off campus. Our live were all very different but in some way shape or form all of us kept busy. It’s good we were learning about stress management!
Defining Yourself on Social Media
Last Thursday at the online persona mini-series, Sam gave a thorough description of how to display oneself online whether on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or a personal webpage. I learned the importance of not just sharing too much, but sharing enough. I generally have the fear that my Facebook reveals too much about me, so I tend to post less rather than more. Sam described how this might not be the best route, because a lack of information will still be unhelpful in a job search. If an employer can’t find anything about you online, then you may be too uninteresting to remember amount a slew of other applicants. We also talked about online biographies and how you should adjust your bio for the type of social media. A LinkedIn profile should probably be more in depth, while Twitter profile is generally short and sweet. But above all, don’t forget a defining piece of info that helps a potential employer remember who you are!
Sketching on the Arts Quad
This week’s Rose event that I attended was the sketching event on the Arts Quad. I have previously taken a few drawing lessons in the past, but have not practiced in a while. At the event, we were taught a bit about two point and one point perspective and how it appears on paper. GRF Seema demonstrated a bit on paper how to draw a one and two point perspective before we attempted sketching ourselves. I thought it was interesting to hear about perspectives, since many times while walking on campus, I do not pay attention to how the buildings around me appear to my eye and what the visual effect of perspectives are. Understanding how to draw perspectives also helped me better understand the appearance and visual of the campus around me.
In addition, actually drawing out one of the buildings on the Arts Quad revealed some of the details on the building that I have not noticed before. When I was trying to look carefully at the buildings, there are many details and nuances in the building structure and appearance that usually are not noticed while walking past everyday. I think that this event was able to help me be more aware of my surroundings and be more appreciative of the beautiful architecture that is present on campus. There are many aspects of campus that many seem to take for granted, architecture being one of them. It was also a great experience as a study break and to take some time to revisit an old hobby. It was a good reminder of some drawing skills and visual analysis skills as well, which are not only important in drawing but also in other areas of study. I was glad I was able to learn more about the process of sketching architecture and the details that are present around me.
Linking In
Last Thursday evening I attended the Rose Seminar about building a professional online profile. I thought this would be an important seminar to attend, as I do spend a lot of time on social media and I might as well look professional as I do it. GRF Sam did a great job of discussing how students should try to be consistent, unique, and professional across different social media platforms. Sam also reminded us about how much we control on each social media page and told us how easy it was to privatize what is publicly viewable on my Facebook page. Sam also did a great job of mentioning that if we do not interact with others on social media and keep up to date, we will not get anything in return. This challenged me to update my LinkedIn and make more connections.
At the end, we each wrote short bios and received feedback from other students. While I don’t use Twitter, I feel as if it would be a great way to share thoughts and interact quickly with others. As I wrote my bio for a potential Twitter, I had to keep in mind that I only had very few characters to get my information out to the public. For my LinkedIn profile biography, I was able to take suggestions from my peers about how I could make the biography more unique so that I am not just any student studying at Cornell University. This was a great seminar and I hope to attend more going forward.
Stress Table Talk
I went to the table talk with GRF Seema. This table talk was interesting in the fact that Seema only voiced facts about stress and let us discuss our own opinions based on those facts. We learnt that there is an optimal point for stress and after that point your quality of work starts to rapidly declined. This was interesting to me given that I find that I am my best productive self when I am stressed beyond belief. This left me wondering if the optimal point is different for different for different people. We also discussed how to deal with stress and what helps many people. According to Seema reaching out to people helps us with stress and is also a bi product of stress. This is because when we need help with something we reach out to more people to get help on a problem set for example. In addition, we talked about unhealthy ways to deal with stress and all shared our stress stories. I enjoyed this table talk because it was genuinely helpful and casual enough that everyone was comfortable to talk.
Online Persona Crash Course
On Thursday, I attended the Rose Seminar on building and maintaining a professional or academic online persona. Although I had some experience with this topic since I have a LinkedIn and personal website, this seminar helped me to look back on the online personas I already have and identify ways to improve them. GRF Sam went over some basic principles for online personas while also providing specific tips for the various platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
He emphasized familiarity, consistency, and participation to build an effective online presence. We learned to make sure we understand how our data is used on these sites, to use the same voice/image across multiple platforms, and to participate actively on each platform we use. Regarding Facebook, Sam encouraged us to review our photos and privacy settings to ensure that only the information we want to be visible is viewable by others.
Sam emphasized differentiating yourself from others on LinkedIn especially, since many people are a “[Class Year] [X] Major at Cornell University.” In addition, to ensure consistency across platforms, we should pick a profile URL that is close to our professional names and use this username across all platforms.
One interesting thing I learned was that we can use Google Alerts to be notified when search results for our professional name/email change. Having differentiated online personas will help to bring them to the top of search results for your professional name.
I really enjoyed having the opportunity to write an online bio and receive feedback from Sam and my peers. As we include our name, current position, department, employer/institution, and specific achievements or interests, Sam recommended we keep in mind the context, audience, and purpose of the bio we’re writing. For example, Twitter bios are short and to-the-point. The audience of our bios is colleagues and professionals occupying the jobs or positions we’re pursuing. The bios will give readers a sense of who you are, your background, and the experiences that qualify you as a potential hire.
One of the last points I took away from this seminar was to always respond to personalized emails/messages about career opportunities even if we’re not interested at the moment. A simple thank-you message saying you will keep the information in mind for the future can go a long way and help you get a job in the future. Overall, I really enjoyed this seminar (as well as the seminars from last semester), and I look forward to attending more events like this one later in the semester and sharpening these skills.
Understanding Stress
Last week, I went to the Table Talk where different Rose Scholars as well as the GRF talked about their different experiences with stress. On campus, there a lot of times where people are stressed out due to academic work, things back home, as well as the uncertainty of the future and it can really affect people. I feel as Cornell students we are constantly between peak performance and overworking ourselves due to our stress levels. This is why in my opinion all-nighters are a trend, as a student some of us have jobs or other extracurriculars that take up the already limited times in our day due to going to lectures. So people, decide to sacrifice sleep to obtain the time that they are not able to get. I feel short term there is nothing wrong with this besides fatigue or exhaustion.
However, long term, I think about how this much stress that is usually consistent in a four year, and for some even eight year academic setting can really affect us as this new generation coming into the real world. Sure as Cornellians’, this university prepares us for the real world in terms of knowledge but what about other things that matter such as people skills. I understand that in some majors such as STEM or engineering to name a few, we treat each other as competitors to beat the curve on exams. But in the real world most positions or career paths encourage collaboration and leadership to make sure goals are met. So, as college students I encourage us to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves and not make college a miserable and stressful experience for four years. Health wise, in the future it may affect us more than we would have ever known. Yes grades are important but let me ask you the reader a question.
Ten years from now will your GPA really matter? Another follow up question. Ten years from now will stressing and depriving yourself of sleep be worth it?
Stress is a Superpower
Last Monday, I attended the Table Talk on stress. With such a relatable and ubiquitous topic for Cornell students, it was easy for us to begin the discussion and to share all sorts of anecdotes and experiences. GRF Seema started us off by sharing some of her stresses that come along with being a PhD student, and she encouraged us to share anything that might be on our minds. This Table Talk was probably the most casual I had ever been to; it felt more like a group of people commiserating and sharing advice than a guided discussion. The people who attended had a variety of different majors, so it was interesting for me to see what people outside of my classes found stressful.
We also discussed the benefits of stress; namely, how a certain optimal level of stress is necessary for maximizing your productivity. It seemed as though people had different optimal levels; personally, I find that I am more productive when I am less stressed, but some people shared that they needed a significant amount of stress in order to motivate themselves. It was interesting to see how such a simple and common feeling can manifest itself in so many different ways.
Optimizing Online Presence
Yesterday night I attended a workshop about creating an online persona hosted by GRF Sam. This was an awesome session because we learned about factors that could be crucial to our professional success. We talked about how managing our privacy on Facebook could be crucial because often times friends can tag you in posts that you don’t necessarily want potential employers to see. Facebook allows extensive opportunities for managing privacy, and if you navigate that correctly it can definitely help out when potential employers are searching for you online. We also talked about the possibility of creating a personal website. This is something I have always wanted to do and we were able to view some examples and talk about what content would be appropriate to post on a personal website.
The best part of the session was constructing potential bios that we could use on our platforms. We practiced varying size and structure depending on what platform it is. For example, Twitter bios are usually short and witty while LinkedIn bios can be long and detailed about your interests and previous experience that is relevant to future positions. We were able to share our bios and get critique from other attendees and Sam (as a graduate student in English, it was extremely helpful.) Overall, I’m so happy I attended this productive session!
Let’s Talk about STRESS
On Tuesday I attended a table talk about stress during dinner at Rose house dining (delicious, always.) The word “stress” is thrown around on a daily basis here at Cornell, so I feel that the strength of the word has been significantly watered down. In my opinion, stress should not be a normal condition for anyone, and I make a conscious effort to not let it sneak itself into my consciousness every day.
The talk was refreshing because we didn’t focus much on actual stress, but rather ways we individually combat it. Some people mentioned they enjoy going for walks and some said they just need to turn the TV on for a distraction. It was interesting to see that across a span of majors ranging from plant biology to economics, we all share the same sentiments about academics, competition, and prelims. Another topic that was brought up in relation to stress was the competitive atmosphere of pretty much anything at Cornell. Even joining a club requires resume perfecting, interviewing, and evaluations. Because of this, we find that even fun outlets like clubs can create a unique form of stress. I think as an institution we can do better in creating environments that don’t require prerequisites or previous experience to get involved. If the goal is to have fun, everyone should be welcome!
Lunch Event with Dining/Building Care Workers
Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to attend a lunch event with Dining/Building Care Workers at Becker House where I got to learn about a lot of the members who work at all the houses on West Campus. This was a very interesting event to attend because I have definitely seen many of the workers around West Campus and in the dining halls but never before knew who they were.
This event was important in facilitating conversation between the workers and students, because it allowed students like myself to see other people that were part of the Cornell community. In addition, this event was a fun event to honor some of the workers who have dedicated many years to working at the West Campus Community. Understanding the dedicated work that the building staff have been putting in all these years was also very important for students like myself to see because many of the luxuries that we have in West Campus are due to the hard work of the staff. This event emphasized the gratitude West Campus students should have for the work of the building staff that often goes unnoticed.
This event was also helpful in increasing transparency of what the building workers’ do. In this manner, in the future, if students like myself ever need to communicate suggestions on changes that can be made to the West Campus buildings or dining services, we can do so more comfortably knowing who the staff are. Finally, because of this event, I’ve been able to recognize and talk to some of the building staff when I see them at the dining halls or around West Campus.
Stress: An Evaluation
During the Table Talk this week, we talked about stress and the ways it affects our daily lives. When I began to see just how much stress was a part of my life, I was shocked. I genuinely thought I had low levels of stress and when I looked at how much I worry, about my future, about my work, about my family, I realized it was more present in my life than necessary. There’s the good kind of stress that you need, the one that pushes you to study and finish your work. But there’s also the kind of stress that prevents you from doing work because it makes you so nervous. I learned that I have a lot of the bad kind of stress and we talked about ways that it can be reduced. What I have found that helps me de-stress is calming music and going for runs. There should be more talk about stress in the future because it can really help someone who might be struggling with it.
Stress of an Entom Major
My suite mates had ushered me to come to the table talk about stress and at first I did not want to go but I am happy I did. Talking to others about stress is actually stress-relieving – it is nice to know you’re not the only one feeling a certain way about said events. There were multiple things I took away from the table talk. For one, it is great to be self-aware of the times you are most productive so you can utilize said times to be most efficient in working. Truthfully, I already did this without knowing. There are certain times in the day I feel most productive and I know I learned these habits from when I was in cyber school (in high school).
Second, I learned that most likely 60% of my stress is due to the fact that I look at what other people are doing and criticize myself for not doing that – which is ridiculous! I am an Entomology major – there are about 35 undergrad Entomology students, yet I find myself thinking about what business students or communication students are doing
Third, joining a club just to say you are in that club or to put it on a resume is not how clubs should be viewed. I am in the undergraduate entomology club and play an active role, I enjoy being in the club and I think this is what clubs are about. The amount of clubs you are in should not be a competition. Cornell students are so stressed because even “fun” things are seen as competitive (sometimes!).
Stress Talk
This week’s table talk on stress was really a broad discussion ranging from causes of stress to coping mechanisms to physiological responses caused by stress. One part of the discussion that I thought was really interesting was how higher household expectations on women especially in developing countries combined with lowered resource availability leads to higher stress levels. It’s interesting to think of stress beyond the usual academic “Oh, I’m so stressed because I have a prelim tomorrow” kind of stress.
It was also fun to hear how everyone copes with stress. We talked about some studies that have found interacting with and reaching out to people reduces stress, but almost everyone at the table talk thought that reaching out to people when stressed only led to more stress because of concerns about judging. People talked about a lot of different stress relieving methods, such as going for walks, catching insects, and watching TV. We also talked about the benefits of planning out events and writing out lists of what we plan to get done on a given day or in a given week. It was interesting how different people had different methods of working through multiple projects. Some people liked to just have one goal for the day, like finish a paper and space the projects out over several days. Others liked to work for a set little amount on many different projects. I definitely will be trying these different ways of dealing with stress in the future.
An unstable equilibrium
I really liked this week’s table talk on managing stress. I think discussions about mental health really help to erase the stigma surrounding it and I would love for there to be more talks like this.
After two years in university, I feel like I am finally in a place of (unstable) equilibrium when it comes to stress and mental health. I say unstable because a push in either direction will probably send me reeling for a bit until I can find my way back. From my perspective, much of mental health is walking the fine line between two extremes. For example, a small amount of stress can be motivational wheres too much is overwhelming, too little socialising leads to withdrawal and isolation wheres too much may lead to a neglect of self-care, etc. The right balance for each person is subjective. For example, some people do their homework at the last minute because the pressure to finish on time motivates them so that stress can be considered healthy. For me, the presence of a looming deadline leaves me unable to think clearly so stress from that would be overwhelming. It takes time and patience to find the right balance for each person and it also explains why tips for stress management are effective for some people but not for others.
For me, when I am stressed I tend to internalise my problems so as to not burden other people. This is probably not healthy, but I like to seek other outlets, like writing. I also like running because it feels liberating as I’m literally running away from responsibilities (at least for a short while). Lastly, I think it’s important to incorporate fun into every day so I try to read a bit of a book or a poem, or draw, or watch a video online before sleeping. There are still some days where I am so stressed that I want to lie in bed all day and cry, but I find that this system of balance and fun has really helped me get through the everyday stresses of life.
Stress as A Wind-Driven Sail, Not a Weighted Anchor
Today’s “Stress Less, Achieve More” table talk made me realize that I expend so much energy dreading stress. In a sense, I almost stress about upcoming stresses. Accordingly, I really agree that thinking about a healthy level of stress as a motivator—an energizing force that can lead me to finish and conquer whatever it is that is concerning me in the first place—can be so helpful. Also, this point made me wonder if perhaps thinking about stress in this positive way may actually be a tool that can help me remain at healthy, motivating level of stress instead of letting it build up to a detrimental, debilitating level. More specifically, when I get that initial sort of jolt of stress—or that feeling that there is no way I will be able to do what I need to do and accomplish what I want to accomplish—perhaps I can tell myself that the concern about finishing my work and doing it the best that I can is going to provide a driving force that will help me surmount this challenge. I previously felt that stress was this anchor that attached itself to me, and it was just a very unpleasant weight or burden that I had no choice but to deal with. Now, I want to start to of stress as a windstorm and my own perspective, or how I view the stressful situation in which I find myself, as a sail. If I set of my perspective just right, I can harness all that stress energy and use it to push me forward. Another very, very important piece of insight I gained from the table talk is that when the burden of stress is so heavy that I cannot really take a step back and change my perspective, I should reach out to people for help and find an outlet for this stress. I think this point is really important because it can be really easy to feel like there is nothing that will alleviate the load of stress besides enduring it until the stress-inducing semester, situation, experience or assignment has passed.
Essentially, I think the most important take-away I left the table talk with was the sense that it is okay to be stressed. It was also very reassuring to know that everyone else is stressed just like I am. As a couple people brought up, it is very easy to look around, see people going out several nights a week and participating in a ton of clubs, and think that there you are doing something wrong because you are so stressed and not even taking on as much as others. Thinking about how everyone is stressed but experiences this stress differently is heartening.
Beans > Beef
This table talk was actually rather difficult for me, as it forced me to face an issue I am very familiar with from a very specific perspective. I abstain from consuming any and all animal products for ethical reasons; I don’t support killing animals for pleasure. As a result, I’ve tried my best to educate myself on animal agriculture and its effects on animal welfare, the environment, and human health. The eco-anxiety table talk forced me to consider the issue of consuming animal products from a strictly environmental perspective, and it focused the discussion on one specific substitution: beans for beef. As someone who has completely eliminated animal products from my diet, it’s difficult for me to acknowledge that simply slightly reducing animal product consumption is also beneficial. In fact, it is probably more effective to convince more people to reduce their intake than to try to convince everyone to go vegan. People would be much more receptive to the idea of reduction, which would not negatively impact their social standing, or prevent them from ever eating their favorite foods again.
One important point that another scholar made during the table talk was that the “beans for beef” article in The Atlantic failed to account for individual financial considerations. Many Americans live in poverty, and simply do not have the time or the money to buy beans instead of beef. While beans are much cheaper than beef and are one of the cheapest foods in the world, many poor Americans are still forced to opt for beef. Because of heavy meat and dairy subsidies, fast food companies can sell extremely cheap beef-based meals. People working multiple jobs with very little finances end up buying these fast food options because they don’t have the time for anything else – even if beans are cheaper. It is easy to forget how difficult choosing plant-based options would be for the poor while discussing the issue in an all-you-can-eat dining hall at a prestigious university. Of course, the fact that the poor are unable to make this choice does not excuse privileged college students from making the right choice themselves, but it does make The Atlantic‘s idea of everyone making the beans/beef switch impossible.
Eco-anxiety and cutting out beef
This past Monday, I went to a table talk about eco-anxiety and a proposed method to help combat it. The discussion was based off an article that suggested that by substituting eating beans instead of beef we could dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
We talked about how culture is deeply tied to our food consumption patterns, the economics of making the choice to switch on both a personal and large scale level, the ethics behind different diets, and even some compromises such as meat grown in a lab and other ways to reduce eco-anxiety and/or emissions for people who didn’t want to give up beef entirely.
One interesting thing we talked about is how it is easier to make a change to one’s lifestyle when they have support from other people in their lives and how to see a large number of people take up this initiative support from groups and in one example universities would be necessary. Another was how big industry helps keep us consuming meat and dairy products and how that impacts not only us, but the animals who end up being food.
Eco-Anxiety and Food
Last Monday, I attended the table talk about eco-anxiety. The discussion was based on an article in The Atlantic, about the effect of dietary choices on the environment. The article suggested that if everyone, hypothetically, substituted beans for beef, the U.S would come close to meeting its 2020 greenhouse-gas emission goals. It’s astounding that such a drastic change can be achieved by a single dietary ‘swap’, without any other variations in diet (The consumption of other meats and animal products can stay constant), energy infrastructure or transportation. More than anything, this statement reveals problems with meat production.
Usually, cattle in industrial systems are fed a mix of corn, soy and other grains or beans. Historically, they used to graze on pastures and were fed a mix of hay and other grasses. Among with a few other discoveries, it was found that animals that were fed caloric-dense foods, as opposed to grass, tended to gain mass at a quicker pace. Since farmers that adopted this new feed were able to produce meat at a faster rate, the industry quickly shifted to caloric dense feeds. A significant amount of fertilisers are required to produce these new feeds in the required quantities. Although cows are notorious for being generators of methane, the use of fertilisers to produce their feed also adds significantly to both the total carbon footprint and to environmental pollution.
Even though meat production has issues of sustainability, it is not reasonable to advocate a complete stop in the consumption of beef or any other meat/animal product. Statements like the one made in the article are important as they indicate inefficiencies in the current food production system. However, they may not be the most effective guideline for personal action. Diets are varied, with every individual having different needs or inclinations towards different foods. Another method of dealing with eco-anxiety related food and food production would be structural and education changes to encourage a balanced diet, as opposed to over-consumption of certain foods (Specifically those with a high carbon footprint).
Beans for beef: save a cow, save the environment
This week’s table talk was all about eco-anxiety and the conscious choices we make when it comes to food and the environment. It was a great discussion and we approached the issue from almost every possible angle – economically, morally, culturally, politically, logistically, etc. I especially found the cultural and ethical aspects to be very interesting and engaging.
A lot of people at the table were vegetarians or vegans. I myself am a half-vegetarian as I only eat chicken, eggs, and the occasional serving of fish and chips. Unlike a lot of people there, I didn’t really choose that sort of diet for ethical reasons but rather for cultural ones. No one in my family eats red meat so I never have either and never want to. But on the flip side, a lot of people are unwilling to give up meat for similar cultural reasons. People undoubtedly have a close connection with the food they grew up with and don’t readily want to give it up. On another level, especially in America, eating meat is often tied with being ‘macho’ and being vegan is seen as ‘wimpy.’ For example, the top search suggestions for veganism: ‘unhealthy,’ ‘debunked,’ and ‘is a cult.’ I think it would be impossible to convince most people to trade in their beef for beans and no amount of scientific evidence is going to change that. We’d have to really start with educating young children but even that has complexities in terms of economics and social inequality. As one scholar brought up, choosing to be vegetarian or vegan is a privilege that many people don’t have.
Another aspect that was really intriguing to me was the tie between environmental activism and ethics. For example, if one person gives up meat but the majority of people don’t, that could be discouraging for the person to continue. I think if you are truly passionate about the environment, you can still drive yourself to do what you think is right regardless of whether other people join or not. I personally try to follow Kantian ethics and the categorical imperative which is to act in a way that you would like other people act as if it were a universal law. Maybe two extra minutes in the shower won’t single-handedly destroy the planet, but can it be justified if everyone took longer showers? With such a daunting problem like climate change, I find it alleviates eco-anxiety when you to try to do your part to make a change and to know your conscious would be clear if your behaviour was universalised.
We’ve Put a Lot of Work Into This Planet
Last Monday, I attended a Table Talk on Eco-Anxiety. Eco-anxiety can refer to multiple things, such as the predilection for traumatic climate events such as hurricanes and food shortages to provoke other mental illnesses, but we discussed eco-anxiety as a manifestation of a unique concern concerning our climate and the impact our actions can have (or the lack thereof). We began the discussion by talking about this article and sharing our reactions and criticisms of the radical suggestion put forth by the article. Someone suggested that this article ignores the economic privilege required to be able to afford a vegetarian lifestyle, both in terms of money and time (although meat is often more expensive than produce, the time required to prepare vegetarian meals may be too much for families in which the parents must work multiple jobs, and fast food is both cheap and full of meat). We also discussed the unpredictable economic and social ramifications of the entire population switching from beef to beans, including the shockwave it could send through the agriculture and livestock industry.
After agreeing the article was interesting but idealistic, we moved on to discussing eco-anxiety in our own lives. People shared their experiences, including why they chose why or why not to be vegetarian and how they sustain that lifestyle. The subject of our individual contributions to minimizing climate change came up, and one person shared a story of her friend’s choice to go vegan and how that friend in turn inspired several others to go vegan as well. It was a small but powerful reminder that an individual can make a larger impact and that we shouldn’t feel completely powerless when thinking about climate change.
Building Perspective
As a transfer student in the midst of a rather difficult transition to Cornell, the Tuesday night talk (October 3) with Dr. Hill and SA Andrew in the Rose Main Seminar Room both reassured me and helped put things into perspective. In a highly competitive environment such as Cornell, it’s easy to get caught up with grades and purely resume-building activities, but with the help of Dr. Hill and Andrew, I realized that what matter most are the relationships I build with the people around me. It is important to take advantage of the amazing network and opportunities offered by Cornell faculty and offices because these resources may not be available anywhere else. I am extremely privileged to attend a university like this one, so keeping things in perspective will allow me to make the most of my time here. I hope to take this valuable advice with me in all my future years at Cornell.
Eco-Anxiety
Prior to the table talk, we were all given an article to read. The article addresses something called ‘eco-anxiety’ — without going to deeply into it, it’s the anxiety associated with global warming and climate change. The article suggested that people should trade “beef for beans” — ie, eating beans instead of eating beef. Apparently, even a simple change like this can help curb the impacts of global warming (and help alleviate eco-anxiety).
Through the table talk, we really went into how asking everyone to eat beans instead of beef is actually not as simple as the article makes it sound. Climate-change is a multi-faceted problem that can’t be solved by that one change (though I think it was mentioned that if we all made that change, we would be able to meet the climate change goals), but even making that one change can prove to be very difficult. The article made it sound incredibly easy, but in reality, changing people’s diets is one related to both culture and socio-economic status. For example, I know in my own family and some aspect of my culture, we show our love for each other through food–so when I first became vegetarian, my family was really confused and wasn’t sure what to make of it. Not to mention, I felt like I was inconveniencing them a lot of the times during family gatherings and dinner. Another problem would be the feasibility of this; in watching another documentary last year, I learned that there were food deserts in America where produce and healthy food isn’t always readily available, so trading beef for beans might be hard in those areas.
Overall, I think the suggestion that people should trade beef for beans is a really good idea and a great sentiment, but there are a lot more things that we have to consider before saying it’s a great idea and that everyone should adopt it, because it’s not always possible (even if the article made it seem really easy). Though I think that if trading beef for beans for yourself helps quell your eco-anxiety, you should definitely do it.
Love From Many Different Perspectives
This conversation, led by SA Andrew, was a lot different than I had initially expected. The context was a little peculiar, which made me trepidatious of signing up for the event initially—we’ve all been through middle school health class, and I personally didn’t feel a need to go through that again. However, my expectations ended up being entirely wrong. The event was interesting and there was an solid dialogue between the many students who attended, and I’m glad that I took the opportunity.
Initially, as expected, there was an awkwardness, a tension, in the air. Not many people wanted to speak up, which is understandable—it can be difficult to bring yourself to contribute in the context of something like this. To that point, I feel that there were too many people present. Perhaps it would’ve been more effective if it were broken up into two groups rather than one large one. I know that I personally would have spoken up more than I did if there were less people present; it makes the atmosphere more conversational.
Even given the circumstances though, it was still a very interesting event. Given how diverse everyone’s backgrounds are, it’s important to discuss topics like love and relationships in a meaningful way. With the stress of performing well, especially during prelims when I type this, social lives can sometimes fall by the wayside. It’s important not to ignore just how important it is.
No ‘Right Answer’
Last Saturday, I attended the talk about love, relationships and dating. Like any other event of this type, there were initially waves of silence that soon went away as time passed by. The talk was interesting and I found myself thinking about it for a while.
Later that day, I found an article on The Atlantic about ‘Love in the Time of Individualism’ and thought it was very relevant to the talk. A large portion of the article was focused on the shifts in the rates of marriage and divorce. It provided a variety of explanations ranging from: shifts in dating culture to an increased sense of individualism. The more I read the article, the more I felt that there isn’t a ‘correct’ opinion about broad issues like those discussed during the talk.
Taking the issue of using dating apps, it is easy to see how one could either be comfortable or uneasy with them. Dating apps provide a great avenue of interaction for individuals who may not feel comfortable meeting other people in-person. However, the opposite is also true in that some people can find it tedious to use a dating app because of the effort required to create, curate and manage a profile.
Another issue is that of the dating culture at Cornell. Students often prioritise work over social life. In a rigorous academic environment, sometimes it can be difficult to compartmentalise work and find time for relationships. However, it is also true that in a stressful environment like Cornell, having a relationship would be a great way to manage stress.
For topics like this, there are often merits for both sides of a discussion. Everyone has different expectations, experiences and beliefs. The talk was a great way to highlight how there is really no ‘right’ answer and no ‘correct’ way to manage relationships and work. Rather, it is always important to reflect, discuss and reconsider one’s options and aspirations when dealing with dating and relationships.
Cornellian Dating Culture
Last week’s seminar with Andrew and Cynthia gave me quite a lot of food for thought. Throughout the past week, I’ve found myself thinking back to other students’ comments on relationships at Cornell.
Many students mentioned that they felt that Cornell’s culture was not conducive to dating, and they notice much fewer couples here than at other schools or in other parts of the country. I think there are two primary reasons for this.
The first is Cornell’s intense academic and career-oriented student population. Most Cornellians were admitted to Cornell and manage to maintain their student status here by prioritizing academics over other parts of their lives. The rigorous academic expectations and tendency of students to commit to time-intensive extracurricular pursuits has resulted in a campus culture where students have much less time for dating. Like many people at the seminar mentioned, relationships take time and work. When students are already so spread out, and prioritize these other aspects of their lives, it’s extremely difficult for them to date. Many students I know (mostly engineers) don’t even have their lives together enough to eat three meals a day, get more than 5 hours of sleep, or exercise regularly. How can they fit another person’s needs into their lives?
The second is the general culture of the northeastern United States. In the northeast, talking to strangers is frowned upon, and people are generally less friendly than in the west or the south of the country. In addition, public displays of affection are heavily frowned upon. I’ve spent seven years of my life in high school and college in the northeast, and I saw more “PDA” in my two months in Hong Kong than in all my years in the northeast. And Hong Kong is already quite conservative! As a result, many students are likely underestimating the prevalence of romantic relationships at Cornell. Without public displays of affection, relationships are just less noticeable. The dating situation at Cornell is probably not as dire as we all think!
Dating or Distracting?
From our talk on relationships in one of the Rose conference rooms I learned that many people at Cornell feel that they may not have the time to devote to a new relationship. With schoolwork and clubs and jobs, students feel that it can be too much to balance. However, I believe that people will make time for what matters most to them. Those who have time for a relationship see it as an important part of both the college experience and life in general. While it is crucial that all students work hard and study effectively, it is also important to explore the social aspects of life. A relationship is only distracting if it is not one of your top priorities. In my opinion, college is a time to figure out yourself and what you want in life. At Cornell there are thousands of students, and while everyone’s studies are the top priority, it is a great chance to branch out and explore. I do not personally believe that a relationship will seriously distract from your studies as long as you are able to keep a balance in your life. In the long run, I would rather take chances and see where things lead than hold back.
Love Should Not Be Pushed Aside For School, And Vice Versa
In Andrew’s Love and Relationships real talk, I discovered many people have a difficult time finding a relationship at Cornell. Students think of love as just another event to put in their schedule. I was lucky enough to have my boyfriend visit the weekend of this event and we both thought other students here should try long-distance relationships, instead of the one-night stand culture typically seen at this university. From my perspective, students at Cornell feel like they have to sacrifice love for their career (since deciding on attending this school). I agree to a degree; I am in a long-distance relationship with my boyfriend and I left him (a healthy, stable, relationship) for a stressful relationship with academia. But the truth is I never feel like I left him. We talk regularly, whether through text, phone, or Skype, and we tell each other about our day and so on and so forth. Talking with him is not just another event I need to block out in my schedule.
With this in mind, I think many Cornell students should not be afraid of long-distance relationships and actually embrace them. Being in a long-distance relationship can really prove how much someone means to you, and how much you mean to your significant other. If you’re in a healthy relationship, your significant other will not ask you to sacrifice your schooling for them; you may have some late nights talking on the phone or find yourself thinking you miss them, but all in all that person is still YOUR person. Love should not be pushed aside for school, and vice versa.
Love and Relationships
During the Real Talk we had with Andrew, it was quite obvious that we had all gathered for an awkward conversation. I was surprised to see that so many people were attending, however not surprised when Andrew explained how open-ended our conversation would be and no one was willing to raise their hand.
I think it was awkward not because of the topic itself, but because everyone has a different perspective on love and relationships and no one knows or feels comfortable approaching such a topic unless they know from what angle their listeners are approaching from, or if they really don’t care. And in a room as crowded as that, no one would know where to begin.
I decided to take the latter route, seeming that not many people wanted to speak up, because I’ve wondered about the perspectives of others from things like messaging other genders (where’s the line between friendly and flirty) and relationships versus hookups. Our conversation swerved from very direct, very crude honesty to simple questions about perspective. And we seemed to constantly jump from one topic to the other rather than indulge in something, because again- everyone has different perspectives and are things different things. However, one conversation that stuck with me was when a girl brought up how a relationship doesn’t inhibit a person from feeling attraction towards others. “It’s not like once you start dating someone, suddenly everyone else turns ugly”. But that it is the way you choose to stay loyal in a relationship that differentiates your significant other from the others. Overall, I was glad to have attended this event and hear what others had to say, despite our topics being all over the place. But that was only a direct reflection of how complicated this topic can get.
What Is Love?
On Saturday I attended a Rose event that revolved around love and dating. To begin, there was a way larger turnout than I expected. I feel that people, especially students at Cornell, have a hard time talking about subjects like love because there is no correct answer. There was definitely awkward silences when the conversation first started out but after a few jokes were cracked, it started getting more comfortable. We discussed what the dating and hook up culture is like here at Cornell. As a transfer student, I was interested in this topic because it’s not something I had heard anyone talk about yet. Other students were able to explain that most students here feel that there is not enough time for intimate relationships. I can understand this because I have already been able to experience what it means to have a completely packed schedule from the early morning to the late night and it is just the first month here. I can see how having a significant other would be difficult to juggle. However, I think that there needs to be a happy medium between school work and nurturing personal relationships (which I will make sure to keep in mind throughout my team here.)
Overall, I enjoyed this event because we were able to get a couple good laughs in while talking about one of my favorite topics! I hope there is a second installation of this event or a similar topic soon.
Let’s Talk About Love.
On Saturday, I filed into one of Rose’s study rooms to talk about love, dating and relationships. I was a little surprised to see just how many people came to this discussion because love is a bit of a messy topic to talk about. For all the pop culture surrounding love, dating and relationships, you would think that we would all have a clearer idea about what it means and how these sort of relationships work in college.
Talking to the other Rose scholars was particularly illuminating because I don’t usually talk about these things to people I don’t know well. Transfers and students who went to different schools highlighted how different relationship culture is between different schools. They mentioned that as Cornell students are particularly career-oriented and very driven, less people seem to be in relationships. But of course, before one can even be in a relationship, they have to meet potential mates. We talked about how much of meeting people nowadays is electronic. People meet other people through social media and online dating apps. These platforms also provide key insights into how interesting the other person finds you. Virtual flirting by tagging each other in memes or texting someone fairly consistently seems to indicate how attractive someone finds you. The overall consensus was that the virtual dimension of relationships hinders information that would otherwise have been gained from face-to-face interaction, such as body language.
I left the discussion really thinking about how everyone deals with doubts about relationships, dating and love. Because everyone has had different experiences with the topic, it can be easy to feel that other people know more about finding love than you do. But hearing all the other Rose residents talk helped me realize that we’re all just as clueless and that’s okay because it is normal.
Love and Relationships @ CU
This Saturday I was hesitant to attend a “real talk” about love and relationships as we all know this can be a strange topic. At the end of the talk I had gained a lot of good insight and I think everyone felt a little more comfortable talking about something that we all think about but don’t want to voice.
In an environment like Cornell composed of busy and driven people a relationship of whatever nature often seems like a burden or an impossible commitment. I know personally that my days are all planned to the hour and being in a relationship on campus would be another thing to balance in my day-to-day routine. We also reflected on the different relationship and hookup cultures on different college campuses. Having a lot of transfers at the talk we mentioned that here at Cornell there is definitely a hookup culture but there seems to be very few people who commit to relationships. The sometimes overlooked fact that relationships are work, and a lot of it, is probably what prevents many of the students at Cornell from seeking love.
Another important part of our discussion was in a world of technology, how do you pursue someone and how do you know when someone is interested? We often trade in-person interaction for over-the-phone texting and snap chatting. It can be hard to know if your texts are wanted or a burden or if a person is not an adamant texter or they are not interested in talking to you? At the end of the conversation we came to the conclusion that it is very hard to interpret on-line communication and it will usually be easier to interact and interpret interactions with people in person.
Relationships are hard in any setting but especially in such a high pressure, busy environment like Cornell University. While phones and obligations make it hard to navigate the world of love, craving companionship is natural and relationships are rewarding.
Fear Doesn’t Have to Make You Cruel
At Monday’s table talk, we began with a discussion on the relationship between migration and discrimination that soon blossomed into a larger conversation on the underlying causes of discrimination and the ways we can combat it in our own lives and as a society. GRF Sam opened the discussion by showing us campaign posters from Germany’s far-right political party, the AfD. These posters were quite shocking, with quotes like, “Burkas? We’ll keep our bikinis” and “New Germans? We’ll make our own,” with images of women wearing bathing suits in the first poster and a pregnant woman in the second. Far beyond the implications of the role of women in these ads, I was struck by the blunt xenophobia expressed. Rather naively, I hadn’t considered how strongly some Germans might feel about immigrants coming into their country. Unfortunately, it was all too easy to connect this with our own country.
Over the course of the discussion, one of the other Rose Scholars expressed her frustration that we couldn’t all recognize the humanity within each other and overcome our slight differences. This prompted a further line of discussion on why native inhabitants of a country might be biased against migrants. I suggested that the people who exhibit the most bias are the people who benefit the most from the status quo, and thus they are the most zealous advocates for preserving it. The fear of change is ubiquitous, especially in tumultuous times such as now, but this fear shouldn’t divide us. Instead, it should galvanize us and bring us together, so that we can work to improve lives for native and non-native inhabitants of our country.
The Love Game
Last Saturday, I attended a talk about love and relationships. Walking into the room, I really had no idea what we would end up talking about because love is a topic that is so “out there.” But I ended up gaining some very good insights, things that I may find myself using in the future. The one thing that I definitely took from this conversation is that the core of relationships is human interaction, and in today’s increasingly technological world, what comprises sufficient human interaction is extremely subjective. A question that is constantly plaguing people is “does he/she like me? Like really like me?” How we interpret this is through interactions, but these interactions are not always in person. Often, constantly sending each other snapchats or liking each others old instagram posts is seen as approval of each other. Furthermore, being able to continue a conversation via text is also seen as wanting to take something to the next level. Yet, even in this increasingly technological world, many people will still say that simple gestures such as making a point to touch you when walking closely together, or pointing their body towards you when speaking to each other are signs of liking each other and possibly wanting to take things to the next level. Despite all of these signs, though, people still find themselves not actively pursuing relationships. Why could this be? The biggest reason is the factor of uncertainty. You don’t want to waste your time on something, but you also don’t want to fear that you are missing out on something good. Attempting to navigate this delicate balance is something that almost everyone is plagued with, whether you are in a relationship or not. We are at the time in our lives where we can make our careers, but we are also at that point where we have the highest chances of meeting new people. Because of this, I think that it is extremely important that we as college students come to terms with the fact that love is a gamble, but it is worth taking the risk in order to potentially gain a life-long partner. And if it doesn’t work out, you gain a set of memories and learning experiences that will help you pursue something even better in the future.
Genetic Engineering: Is it right?
Last week at the table talk, we discussed genetic engineering and some of its various uses. When thinking about genetic engineering, the most controversial aspect is a moral one. Just how far will this science proceed? With new techniques being developed such as CRISPR, what more will we learn to be able to control? Genetic engineering definitely has some beneficial aspects, such as the now much more viable option of growing human organs in pigs (albeit not beneficial for pigs!), or helping to fight certain diseases. However, what are the drawbacks?
From the talk, it seems that there have been some government restrictions set on genetic engineering, but its development is most likely going to be unrestricted in the long run. This is due to certain countries being much more lenient on these restrictions, which in turn causes other countries to fear falling behind. Hence, it seems that the question really is: What is the limit on what we can control via genetic engineering? With the rise of designer babies, the direct impact on human life by genetic engineering is growing more and more apparent. However, it seems there may be limitations on genetic engineering when it comes to the human genome. A world where uniform, perfect and/or superhuman copies of each other dominate the globe may be mere fiction due to the highly complex nature of gene mutations related to traits such as athletic ability or intelligence: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/04/science/gene-editing-embryos-designer-babies.html?mcubz=0 . Hence, it may be that the advance of genetic engineering will be beneficial for our society without leading to some sort of dystopia. Otherwise, it could be like the myth of Icarus where we fly too close to the sun and get burned. I guess only time will tell.
It’s only going to get worse
Last week I attended the Genetic Engineering table talk led by GRF Shivem. The discussion was focused both on ethical and technological questions that are related to advancements in genetic engineering. Although genetic engineering (broadly defined as direct manipulation of an organisms genome) has existed for awhile in a few forms, the main impetus behind a lot of current research is CRISPR. CRISPR is a big long acronym for something, but the idea is that we can control proteins and genes that bacteria use to edit genes to edit genes of our choosing. The applications are already being seen from cancer to plant breeding and others. But all of these wonderful technologies raise ethical questions. One question in particular deals with a new program that is attempting to grow human organs inside of pigs (https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/08/pig-organs-for-humans/536307/). Normally such organs provoke a dangerous immune response in humans, but with genetic engineering that might be a thing of the past.
This brings up an obvious ethical question of using animals as glorified receptacles for human organs. Someone who believes that eating meat is fine isn’t likely to object to this, as in this instance the pigs are directly saving human lives rather than “just” providing a tasty treat. However, even if one is a vegetarian (or similar) this is not a straightforward question. A good portion of people alive today (although certainly not everyone) who eat meat do not need it in a strict sense: they could theoretically cut meat out of their diet and lead a regular life. However, in this case it is a matter of life and death: someone who needs an organ will die if they don’t get it in a timely fashion. There is far larger demand for organs today than there is supply, and it’s not easy to tell a small child with liver cancer that their life is worth less than a pigs. I’m not pretending that I have all of the answers to these questions but they will only become more relevant, with larger consequences as time goes on.
Migration
This was a really great table talk considering the current political climate, and I’m glad GRF Sam was able to facilitate a great discussion and give us some insight through his research!
We first started the discussion on talking about the “far right” movement in Germany, and some of their campaign slogans. I think it’s interesting that the far right is not only appearing domestically in the U.S., but also elsewhere in the world as well. However, I also feel like this isn’t anything new. Throughout history, there’s always been a concept of “us versus them”, and this is no exception. I feel like people often feel like immigrants are always here to “steal their jobs” (not really the case) and the people originally there feel threatened and proceed to discriminate against them.
What I find most sad about all of this is that all humans, regardless of ethnicity, background, etc, share 99.9 percent of all their DNA. I think it’s sad that we can’t all get along and politicians continue to perpetuate the “us vs. them” narrative to garner votes.
Sam (and the other Table Talk participants) mentioned this might be due to other factors, such as race/ethnicity/economy, etc, and I totally agree–but that means that the problem is multi-faceted and there’s no easy fix to it. Whatever we do will likely displease another group of people (for example, raising minimum wage will anger others even though it helps a lot of people), and since it’s usually the rich who call the shots in America (the only people who can appeal to politicians/lobby through money), it kind of seems like a hopeless cause. I think, though, that doing nothing/complacency doesn’t help the cause either. I think it’s really important to speak up and more importantly, educate ourselves and speak up for those who cannot. There’s a lot of power in numbers.
The War on Terror
At this table talk we talked about the War on Terror, its impact, and where to go from here. I think it was an interesting discussion, and I think as to answering the question “where to go from here,” there isn’t that much of a straightforward answer (as with most things in life). I think the U.S. is too deep into this to simply pull all the troops out in one go (I think that would put Afghanistan at risk of being back into Taliban control), but I also think it’s time for the U.S. to withdraw (as Obama had done) instead of trying to get even more deeply entangled in this mess.
I feel like a theme throughout U.S. history is that we try really hard to be involved in things that we “believe in” (fight terrorism, for example, or communism, as in the past), but at the same time, are very hypocritical about these supposed “values.” Something that was discussed in the Table Talk was that the US got involved in Iraq and Afghanistan but not Saudi Arabia. I guess what I’m trying to stay to that point is that I feel like it’s not particularly the U.S.’s job to protect other countries, especially because every time we try, we just make a mess (and spend a ton of money). But it’s the politicians/people with a lot money calling the shots, so it doesn’t particularly matter what people like you or me think.
A point that was said during the table talk was that the War On Terror helped the U.S. economy. Sure, the war generated jobs, but if that same amount of money was invested on education, the ROI would be far higher. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m not really for more engagement in this issue for the U.S., but we certainly can’t just leave (because we started it). Perhaps with some time, though, our “next steps” would become clearer to us.
It was a really interesting table talk and brought to light an issue I haven’t thought about.
Migration, Discrimination, Gentrification
During the table talk with GRF Sam, the group touched upon the implications of gentrification for immigrants and political participation. As a collective, we saw a connection between communities being split up, and therefore losing a cultural group, to a loss of identity, a diminishment of unity, and consequently a lack of political participation. Having perspectives from students at the table who come from immigrant families also highlighted the contrasting experience different immigrant groups have, especially depending on the strength of the cultural community one is entering. GRF Sam gave insight into the intersectionality of his research, migrant discrimination, and other topics relevant to us as students. Overall, I gained valuable insight from different perspectives, experiences, and learned more about the relevance of GRF Sam’s research.
Genetic Engineering
Down at the flora rose dinning hall, about a dozen of us sat down with GRF Shiv to talk about genetic engineering. We bounced from pigs to Star Trek to designer babies. As with any topic as controversial such as this, a large part of the discussion centered around the ethics of its seemingly imminent commercial use.
This conversation made me think of what it means to be human in the 21st century. As of late, I’ve been giving much thought to my education and what it means in universal terms, not just jobs and societal ‘upnods’. A large part of my own major involves genetics, and I wonder if the extent we’re looking at from designer babies to saving someone who would not even come into existence in the first place is changing human nature.
I settled on the definition of education most widely pursued today, vocational, to be something that exists to make life easier for humans, for us to focus on…living. But when we change our own makeup 1) we’re removing a few elements/obstacles in life that give rise to the essence of humanity such as dealing with the emotions in response to the unknowns nature hands us. With genetic engineering we remove a lot of these unknown and for the better. 2) We are literally changing our makeup. Personality is widely considered to be more of a product of our environment than genetics but our genotype does influence who we are. Not only directly, but through the characteristics it deals us and how we navigate our life with them. Does this mean we effect a persons nature, their exploration of what it means to be human?
Pigs!
When I got the email for Shiv’s table talk about genetic engineering, the thing that stood out to me the most was that it mentioned pigs (!). I don’t adore pigs, although I did love Wilbur in Charlotte’s Web. I was just curious- what do pigs have to do with genetic engineering?
A lot apparently- 0ur table talk was fascinating! We talked about a new technology called CRISPR, a genetic engineering tool that can alter the DNA of cells by using a protein to cut out the unwanted portions of a cell and replace it with modified material. CRISPR is extremely versatile and easy to use, and it can be used in various fields. It can be used to cut out a genetic piece that would cause disorders in children, or make a plant immune to a disease. As a result, this technology is extremely valuable. However, there is a legal battle going on about who actually owns the technology- a professor in UCSF who first discovered its use in bacteria, or her partner who first applied this knowledge to the use of human cells.
But back to pigs. CRISPR can be used to alter pig DNA so that human organs can be grown in pigs. This would be revolutionary- thousands of people wouldn’t have to die every year because they can’t get a organ from a human organ donor. Instead, they can get it from a farm animal.
As good as CRISPR sounds, it has the potential to create huge ethical problems. For instance, someone at the table mentioned ‘designer babies’. Parents could use this technology to make their children have a certain eye color, or skip out on a hunched back gene. And the thing about science is that sometimes people don’t know where to draw the line.
CRISPR will probably win a Nobel Peace Prize one day (hopefully after the messy legal battle is cleaned up). However, it is important to recognize that as amazing as it is, it may potentially bring up future problems to society. I just feel sorry for the pigs.
Discussing about dating
Today’s table talk, led by our SA Andrew, is a very interesting talk. Dating is a topic that plays a big role in college life, yet we normally wouldn’t discuss in a big group conversation. Andrew did a great job in leading us towards a fun conversation, knowing other people’s thoughts, and discussing the questions that we have.
We also had a faculty member, who was experienced in the field of love relationships, dating, and college students’ life. What surprised me most is how similar of thoughts other people in the Cornell community to mine. We are all seeking for a romantic relationship, yet not able to commit in time or energy, since we are in a very competitive and full-filled environment at Cornell, where everyone has their goals and plans, that makes the opportunity cost of spending time on a relationship too high for many of us to step into. However, on the other hand, dating, love, romance are indispensable part in our lives, and they are worthy for us to explore and learn through our lives. We always want to be unique and we are going to spend most of our lives to prove that we are. And the magic part of love and relationship, is that in another person’s eyes he/she sees you, and at that moment you are special. This is a basic psychological need in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and irresistible for human beings. Also, I really like the metaphor that one of the people at this talk pointed out, that everyone is as a boat in the ocean, where it would be nice to have someone to paddle with you, sharing the view alone the journey with you.
It’s an interesting conversation overall, and I really enjoyed it.
To Make Us Better
On Tuesday, I attended the Table Talk about Genetic Engineering. The conversation mostly centered around the idea of Three Parent Babies and Pig Organ Donors. This is a commonly discussed topic lately, due to the rise in the use of these technologies with human applications. Most of the criticism around using this technology leads to ethical questions about how this relatively expensive technology can adversely affect our societal structure and how much should we be able to change the DNA of humans or any animals in general. For example, if people were able to fix the DNA of their children for a fee to prevent any diseases, most people would to ensure their child doesn’t have any unnecessary problems. But because it is a potentially expensive procedure, the lower income families may not be able to afford it and it could lead to a positive feedback loop, where employers would prefer those who went through the procedure because they would be unlikely to get sick or they could have a higher IQ, or whatever else they can change. Then those without the procedure may be forced into the lower paying jobs and that cycle can continue on. The other main ethical concern is with the concept of how much should we be changing our DNA or those of the plants and animals around us? Currently, they have been altering the DNA of pigs to remove genes to make them less susceptible to the animal diseases, allowing for future applications of growing them with human compatible organs for transplants.
Before this talk, I already knew about some Genetic Engineering applications like the ones discussed were happening. I had also read some interesting books, such as “Brave New World” that introduced concepts of how these technologies could affect society. The way I felt about these applications of genetic engineering mirrored what I had felt before. I think it is a great resource to help people and cure terminal illnesses, but it depends on the guidelines they have to adhere and who controls the technology. If guidelines remain lax, there is a lot that could potentially go wrong with who they test this on or how far they take it. Such as, potentially making clones for humans, whose organs they can harvest, should the ‘original’ human need it. Additionally, those who control it have a lot of say in how it affects our society. If it were a not-for-profit group then I hope that they would standardize it so everyone can gain access to it. But a for-profit group may be more interested in income and may make it an elite thing. This could lead to a large gap in the low income and the higher income citizens. Additionally, genetic engineering could also be very helpful to humans. Not only in the way of removing diseases, but it could give us the ability to adapt to different climates or maybe even other planets within a far shorter timeline. Of course, this is far off, as we would first have to determine how different genes interact with others before we could go in and change DNA and we would have to have the technology to aid us in this feat. Genetic engineering is a fascinating field and it will be interesting to see where it takes us in the future.
Potentials and Pitfalls of Genetic Engineering
At this week’s Table Talk, we discussed the controversy of various forms of genetic engineering and the forms of competition which drive progress, especially in fields such as science and medicine. One of the forms we discussed was that which occurs between countries. I found this particularly compelling because it reminded me of previous events in the history of the United States and the world: one positive in the eyes of scientific progress and one catastrophic to humanity. The first of these, the space race, mainly provided a motivational drive — a political benefit to scientific progress, and it concluded with one of mankind’s greatest achievements to date, placing a man on the moon. However, the latter of these was the race to create an atomic bomb, and while it also represented great scientific progress, this time in terms of the understanding of radioactive elements, the ultimate result was the death and devastation of hundreds of thousands of people. Ultimately, the question this raises to me is not whether genetic engineering will result in incredible scientific progress — for it undoubtedly will. Instead, will genetic engineering one day find itself the cause of great devastation to humanity? And what steps can we take to prevent such a disaster without hindering scientific progress?I personally have faith in the scientific community in preventing physical threats that would resemble an atomic bomb, such as a swine flu epidemic, but I am less certain about the potential impacts of genetic engineering that will come about based on people’s choices and investments (i.e. designer babies) and what consequences, both physical and societal, may arise as a result.