During our table talk on Monday, we talked about how common it is for college students to fail to get adequate sleep every night. According to Dr. Maas, college students should be getting 9 hours of sleep a night. Previously, I had always heard that each person’s sleep cycle was different, and quality of sleep depended most on REM cycles. I was surprised at how much sleep he said was required, as I can often sleep for far fewer than 9 hours and go about my day without being tired.

Since arriving to Cornell, I actually haven’t been so stressed out about monitoring my sleep schedule. In high school, the 7:30 AM start time, paired with daily late-night rehearsals and practices, sleep was scarce for me, and I only got 5 to 6 hours on average. At Cornell, I’ve been fortunate enough to start my days at 10 Am and sometimes even later, allowing me to sleep for 7 to 8 hours. However, when I do not sleep, I force myself to push through the day, as I do not like taking naps in the afternoon.

I thought some of the correlations and comparisons from the study were interesting. There is a high correlation between lack of sleep and being overweight. Additionally, 80,000 people fall asleep at the wheel each day, but this has never happened to me. In fact, driving helps to make me more alert of my surroundings.

On Monday evening, I sat down with GRF Tyler to talk more about the Olympic cheating scandal involving the country of Russia. During the talk, we shared our opinions on what we thought was a fair penalty for a country that condoned cheating. In my opinion, the Olympics should be about rewarding the best athletes in the world with a chance to compete for the gold medal. I believe that many of the Russian athletes were innocent from the scandal and should not be penalized.

We also discussed what the “Russian ban” really meant, as all of the Olympians from Russia wear the same uniforms. When I see the athletes, I still consider the country of Russia to be the winner, so I do not feel as if the penalty is very strong. I am somewhat skeptical of how effective this punishment will be, however, I have confidence that no other countries will successfully be able to cheat to the extent that Russia did in Sochi.

Last Friday, numerous students gathered in the dining hall to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympic games. During the ceremonies, Olympic athletes for Russia marched out wearing grey uniforms without bearing Russia’s flag. This was done as a form of punishment handed down from the IOC after a severe doping scandal from the previous games.

As a result of this punishment, all Russian athletes will be competing as independents. Whenever a Russian athlete wins, the Olympic flag will be raised and the Olympic anthem will be played. In my opinion, this was a fair punishment, as I do not believe that Russia should be represented by athletes, but I do feel as if the clean athletes should not be deprived of competing. Many athletes dedicate their lives to training for the Olympic games and many have only such a small window of time to be among the elite class in the world. By banning all Russians, many deserving athletes may never have received their fair chance to compete in the games.

After reading about the scandal and learning more about the process, I became even more curious in discovering how exactly they pulled it off. Additionally, I think it’s interesting that two of the main chemist’s colleagues suddenly died once the IOC discovered the cheating scandal. I believe that all those who were involved with the doping scandal should be permanently banned from the games.

Despite the controversy about the Russian Olympians being accused of doping, I personally find it just as unified for the non-accused athletes to compete under a blank flag. With the Olympic symbol shown and the athletes in white, it is almost as if a reminder that they are citizens of the world and not just one country. Although the court has overturned the life-time decision against 28 of the athletes (and 15 who did try to compete after the overturning did not get to), I hope that they are able to still feel the pride that the others competing experienced for their country. I am very excited for the games and know they will do well as individual athletes and citizens of the world, regardless of the name on the flag.

The opening ceremonies in Pyeongchang were absolutely spectacular. The celebration of Korean history and culture combined with a breathtaking display of lights, music, and choreography was enough to entertain for 3 hours – no small feat. Supposedly the spectacle had been in planning for 2 whole years, and it certainly showed. All of it felt perfectly punctuated by the coming together of the DPRK and ROK teams to form a unified Korea team, complete with integrated women’s hockey team and all. The Olympics have always been about international politics – Jesse Owens running in Berlin in 1336, the US boycotting the competition in 1980, and the USSR doing the same in ’84. The ideally friendly international rivalry and camaraderie shown by the participants in these ceremonies is by a wide margin my favorite part, and is the reason I follow the Olympic games every other year. With this in mind, the controversy surrounding Russia’s barring from the games takes on a new color.

The International Olympics Committee, after reviewing drug tests from Russian athletes from the Sochi and London games, determined that a wide conspiracy of doping, led by the Russian government, was in effect. The response was to fully bar Russia from the games, and allow athletes from Russia to compete as “Olympic athletes from Russia.” These athletes wear grey, the Olympic flag, and if they win gold, the Olympic anthem will play. Any mention of Russia as a sovereign state has been cut out. Russia is not a small power, and there’s a lot to be said for how performance at the Olympics can be a show of power. Barring Russia from participating is a political statement whether the IOC thinks it is or not. And, when Thomas Bach gave his speech, calling for the athletes to not cheat, and participate in the spirit of the sport, the statement was made even further. Russia has been given the moral equivalent of a mild UN sanction for cheating in a sporting event, which is something I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand it is only a sport – should Russia receive what amounts to political punishment for cheating in a sport? But then, the punishment fits the crime. And, furthermore, the link of the Russian government to the conspiracy also seems to justify political action. Either way, the statements and actions from the IOC are as much a condemnation of cheating as they are a mild attack on the Kremlin. I look forward to seeing what comes of the moves towards a unified Korea movement, as well as any other, unexpected international dealings that come out of this years games.

My high school mock trial team had a running joke that being a judge was the best job in the world because you got to sit in a comfy chair all day while everyone treats you like a god. Scott Miller’s talk really showed that we were probably overstating it. Over the course of his talk, Scott Miller really showed that having that kind of power over people and the ability to set precedents like People v. Brukner is something that should never be taken lightly. It’s a position that can have really strong restorative power, and it’s important to take responsibility in that. I enjoyed his discussion of restorative justice and the notation of the importance of not just punishing for the sake of punishing in the case of nonviolent crimes.

I slightly disagree with his idea that all of our domestic problems could be solved by considering health care and education a human right and acting accordingly (i.e. making addressing both of these issues a priority) I agree that health care and education are a human right, and that not considering them as such causes many problems in United States. However, I feel this outlook ignores more basic problems. Americans still face lack of affordable and safe housing, food insecurity and a growing income disparity. These problems are more immediate concerns. People’s right to a living wage, a safe place to live, and food is more necessary. It can be said that housing and food insecurity are part of health care, but I think it’s important to consider them initially as steps of prevention. The fact that people don’t have clean access to clean water, food, and housing in this country is a bigger problem. I agreed with his point about the needless focus on military spending and cases where funding military operations was given almost unquestionably while citizens go bankrupt trying to pay for necessary medical treatment without private insurance. Near the end, he added a point about us being lucky to live in a time of upheaval that could change the course of history. I don’t feel very lucky.

These complaints are mostly nitpicks. I was really glad to have the opportunity to hear from him about his experiences. I missed the meeting last semester because of scheduling conflicts, so I was really glad to be able to go this semester.

Tonight I attended the Rose Cafe talk with Judge Scott Miller. It was the second time I has the pleasure of attending an event that featured him. As someone who plans on attending law school in the hopes of becoming a judge, his insight into jurisprudence has been pivotal in the formation of my own. Even when discussion lends itself to more mundane topics such as first impressions and simple humanity, the talk never seems to dull.

I find it funny that every judge I have the opportunity to meet has been so laid back and progressive. They all seem like people I would love to have as friends, and Judge Miller is no exception. I interned with the Honorable Judge Stuart Rice, and he held the same air of confidence that engages his audience and makes them want to know more. One of my college advisors back at home, Judge Kevin Yourman, also has such a way with words. It was great to be in the presence of someone so similar to two key influences in my own decision to pursue law.

I wish we had more time to speak with him. I had so many questions to ask: his opinion on the privatization of institutions some think should remain public, his opinion on both the legality and morality of drone strikes in the middle east, if he thinks rehabilitation of those prosecuted is always feasible, how he partitions his personal bias from his ruling when they are so tangential… The list of things to ask seems to go on forever.

I think the most influential part of his talk this time was when discussing the judge who seemed to deride Larry Nassar when sentencing him to over 100 years in prison. While I relate with the sentiment of the presiding judge, I completely agree with Judge Miller that it was out of turn for her to speak her prejudices. When thinking of this case, the idiom “justice is blind” comes to mind. Besides following precedence in an effort to standardize the judicial system, a judge’s job is to listen to a case while simultaneously ruling without personal bias clouding their decision; this judge seemed to disregard her obligation to impartiality.

Judge Miller also brought up the interesting concept that the power dynamic in the courtroom mandates more maturity from the judge than the defendant. I hadn’t considered this, but his point is valid. As an authority, it is again the judge’s responsibility to carry herself with poise.

However, when Judge Miller expressed that universal healthcare and education were the two most pointed issues to be solved, I am not too sure if I agree. I think these two issues are very shallow compared to the underlying causes of this type of social stratification. I think back to Kimberle Crenshaw’s view on intersectionality: when we raise the standards for those at the bottom of the social totem pole, we inherently raises those also socially disadvantaged with them. And for Crenshaw, they were black women. Once we tackle the underlying issue of racism, sexism, and the subsequent results – such as inaccessible healthcare and below par education- then we will be one step closer to an America with equity. But I can appreciate where Judge Miller’s views come into play; I think we just have reverse approaches.

Similar to the last Rose Cafe with Judge Miller, he ended with a little pep talk about looking to the future, how the pendulum swings in favor of progress. It was a touching moment, and the call to action really made me want to make something matter. I’m not too sure what; just anything, I suppose: the privilege I’ve been afforded to go to Cornell, the diversity of the community around me, the opportunity to be where I am today. I just want it to matter. But if the the swing of the pendulum is now in our favor, when will it swing back to the other side?

This week at Rose Cafe Judge Miller brought up a very interesting point about fixing a lot of problems in our society. In order to attempt to tackle over issues we must first ensure universal healthcare and a quality education for everyone as a basic right. Universal healthcare is quite a controversial topic but I think a lot of problems would be solved by introducing universal healthcare. I think a lot of times people fail to seek preventative care and treatment because healthcare under a system of private insurance is expensive and often times they can’t afford it. This seems to be a political debate of a lot of interest and I personally am not very well versed in healthcare however it do think it is not a privilege it’s a right. Now onto the point on education. I know this a topic of importance to most of you considering you are  students at an ivy league university (yes, I know people think we are a fake ivy). You didn’t start out here though. You started out in elementary school then went to middle school and then high school. (At least I did, I suppose that depends on where you grew up). Personally I attended public school and received a great education. However, some people aren’t that lucky when it comes to going to public school. Their schools are underfunded and overcrowded. They are receive a lower quality education because of where they live. They receive often times a subpar education because they are economically disadvantaged. Everyone should have the right to a quality education. The composition of Cornell would be completely different if everyone who went to public school was afforded the same education. The majority of Cornell wouldn’t be from Westchester, Long Island or New Jersey. (There would still be a high percentage probably because legacy kids but it would hopefully be slightly more diverse.) I think fixing healthcare and our education system are expensive but worthwhile investments.

(also side note yes i realize this is uncategorized but there is no tag for this event yet)

I attended the dinner talk regarding stress where the GRF and other students discussed how they handle stress at Cornell. Because stress is an inevitable aspect of college life, I think that this talk was much needed and especially around the time when the 2nd round of prelims were starting! In my opinion, this was a very effective conversation because its informal nature allowed us to speak up and express how stress affects us on campus and how we individually deal with it. After hearing about how well certain study tips have worked for GRF Seema and other Rose Scholars (ex. chunking the study material into reasonable portions and rotating topics so you don’t get tired), I became more inspired to switch up my study techniques because they provided convincing opinions about how they have helped. In the future, I hope that I will remember to chunk my study material and use my stress to my advantage to help me complete my assignments instead of being scared of it.

At this talk, we discussed transferring to Cornell and how the experience had been treating us so far. As a Junior transfer student, I quickly noticed that I was one of the very few. All the transfer students that I had met were Sophomores and it made me increasingly worried when I realized I didn’t have much time left compared to my friends. However, at this talk, we were able to hear from SA Andrew who was also a junior transfer last year. Hearing about his experience with adjusting academically and socially made me feel more at ease about my transfer process. He assured us that the competitive spirit at Cornell will always be present, but we will quickly learn to manage all aspects of the school.

In addition to this, we were able to hear from Dr. Hill about his opinion on everything from academics to extracurricular activities and strategic networking. He provided the perspective of a potential employer or admissions officer and explained that a perfect GPA and extracurricular is not always the most important part. He shared that he was never a straight-A student, but what he excelled at was his ability to create meaningful relationships and how that ultimately catapulted his career in academia into the direction he wanted. This talk made me realign my priorities and ever since I had made sure to remain conscious of what I need to do to reach my goals.

Last week I had the pleasure of going ice skating with fellow Rose scholars! I was excited when I learned about this opportunity because I haven’t been as physically active as I would have liked this semester (besides walking up and down the slope).  I hadn’t gone ice skating in years, so stepping onto the ice was a bit tricky at first. However, after a couple minutes of warming up muscle memory kicked in and I was able to let go of the wall and have a good time with friends. I was with a friend who was visiting from UNC Chapel Hill and he was impressed by how many fun things there were to do on actual campus. I wasn’t aware that the skating rink had special nights were students could go ice skating so I took a note of that in case my friends and I are looking for something to do next semester. There are so many things that Cornell offers that students don’t know about and I have a feeling the ice rink would be even more packed if more people knew about it! Overall, I’m glad I went skating and got my mind off of the daunting thought of finals.

The Blues Brother, a film I hadn’t seen before, stuck out to me in so many ways. As a jazz trombonist and enthusiast, I absolutely loved the film’s music. Encompassing a great assortment of bluesy tunes was a phenomenal supporting cast, with the likes of  Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and Ray Charles. The film’s capacity to entertain, however, goes far beyond its great soundtrack. Although the plot seemed predictable at times, the comedy packed action scenes were vastly entertaining, and the directors struck a great balance between introducing new storylines and continuing/building upon previously introduced ones. An example of this is seen with the gas station scene, where Elwood Blues is chatting up Twiggy (a British culture icon in the late 20th century who made a cameo in the film). When Elwood is leaving, he tells Twiggy to show up to a particular hotel if her date doesn’t show up. The movie continued on with its plot, and during the falling action/end of the film, we get a short scene of Twiggy waiting outside that particular hotel — a short continuation of a plot line that I got a kick out of. The car chase scenes throughout the film were amongst the best I’ve ever seen — painted a nice color of action. In some scenes, the stunt crew destroyed as many as 70 cars in pile-ups!

Outside the cult-film status The Blues Brother has acclaimed in late nite cinema, it also presents a considerable amount of moral symbolisms and themes. If we take a step back and look at the grant goals of our dual protagonists, Elwood and Jake strive for something selfless, although the means through which arrive at such a goal may not be completely correct, with their quest of helping the orphanage. When Aretha Franklin sings to stop her husband from leaving the restaurant to go play in a band, we get a nod at how personal goals and goals of a relationship can often misalign. Altogether, it’s simply a great film. 10/10 would recommend.

I’ve always been a fan of 80s movies, and I can say that this one definitely lived up to my standards. This story follows two hip brothers that are seeking to raise money for an orphanage. Of course, this leads to an abundance of mayhem, mixed with musical performances.

After discovering that their orphanage will be shut down unless a $5,000 tax bill is settled within days. The brothers decide that they are “on a mission from God” and set out to do the only thing they know how: reunite their old blues band and perform a show to raise money.

Even though the ending results in them being able to save the orphanage, their rowdiness and crimes catch up to them, resulting in their arrest.  In the final scene, we see them playing for the other inmates with armed guards standing above the hall. This bittersweet nicely ties up the film, and I highly recommend the film to anyone into 80s films!

As a fun end of the semester activity we were able to go ice skating at Lynah Rink. This destresser, gave us a fun way to enjoy spending quality time with friends while participating in a fun activity. Since I hadn’t gone ice skating for a long time, it took a few tries for me to get into the rhythm of things. yet, after those first few “close call falls”, I was able to find myself enjoying the satisfying gliding sensation that I had enjoyed so many years ago. Overall, I would highly recommend this worthwhile activity for anyone looking for a good time filled with laughs.

Last week, I had the opportunity to sit down with Rose house GRF Shiv and talk about Immunotherapy. Shiv is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, once done at Cornell, he plans to attend medical school and go on to become an oncologist. Shiv spends the majority of his time in the Immunotherapy and Cell Engineering lab on campus where he conducts an array of different research involving cancer cells and treatments.

Since he has such extensive knowledge of cancer, he was able to explain to us how it works and how immunotherapy could help. Though everyone knows what cancer is, only a small percentage can explain what it is and why it is so dangerous to our bodies. He was able to explain it in a way that made sense to everyone: imagine that all the cells in your body have blue shirts on. Normally, when a cell with a red shirt on comes in, all the blue shirts know that that’s an “outsider” and automatically build up defenses to get it out as soon as possible. However, with cancer, it’s not that evident. The cancer cells are only wearing a slightly tinted blue shirt which doesn’t raise such a red flag for the cells automatically to fight back on. Essentially, your own body tricks itself into not being able to tell the difference between a good and bad cell.

As we know, there has been extensive research into medical treatments and procedures that could be the cure for cancer. However, instead of looking elsewhere for treatment, Immunotherapy goes straight to the source of the problem: our bodies. Essentially, Immunotherapy boosts the defenses in our body to fight off cancer cells by using substances that our body already makes to restore immune function. Immunotherapy is still relatively new and extremely expensive, however, many scientists and doctors believe this is a large step in the right direction in cancer treatment.

As a second year Rose Scholar, I am very satisfied that there was an activity that was geared towards relieving us students of stress. Thank you to GRF Sara for putting this on. I remember last semester, that there was a table talk in which we talked about the mental health of students on campus. I discussed how students are so worried about academic and career related things, that they really do not have time. I feel that this was a step in the right direction, people have time for ten minutes.

With the massage itself, my masseuse Tracey was very friendly and I was basically able to take a ten minute nap, because of how comfortable it was. After the massage, I was loose and relaxed for the rest of the day. It was the best feeling, I felt in a long time.

So I think we as a student population need to give ourselves more credit than we think and treat ourselves every once in a while.

Truthfully, I really didn’t have any expectations for the training. I knew what CPR was in principle, but I didn’t know what to expect in terms of involvement nor mood at a training. Interestingly, it was far less taxing than I anticipated, especially for getting certified. I’d even call it fun, thanks to the approachable and enthusiastic EMS staff. This brings me to wonder how much of the staff, or really anyone, on campus and elsewhere is trained in CPR, which can no doubt become rather useful when you least expect it. Perhaps, like the swim test, students and staff should be required to learn other life-saving skills, especially CPR and the Heimlich maneuver… Food for thought.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to learn CPR.  Besides the fact that CPR is a good skill to know anyways, I thought it would be a great idea to do it because I am interested in going into the medical field.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but Cornell EMS did a great job explaining the various situations and the steps we should take to perform CPR when necessary; it was also very cool being able to work with other students while learning the steps.  Even though I was nervous about taking the test at the end, it was very low-stress and I was able to receive CPR certification.  I would definitely recommend that anyone learn CPR if he/she has the chance, because it’s pretty simple but it’s something that everyone should know.

Loving was a touching that had me on the verge of tears multiple times. After watching the movie, I was curious to learn more about the real story of Mildred and Richard Loving. I was amazed the decision to make interracial marriage constitutional was only made in 1967.

As the Asian half of an interracial couple, this film resonated with me. Though the existence of overt racism in regards to interracial couples has become very, very, uncommon, in my experience, racism still exists in more subtle, perhaps unconscious ways. I’m from the midwest, where the population is friendly, conservative, and not high in minorities. I started dating my boyfriend over three years ago, the summer before my senior year of high school. But this almost didn’t happen. My boyfriend described a conversation he had with his dad before we started dating, when we were good friends. His dad asked him if we were dating, and my boyfriend responded by saying that I was Asian. His dad told him that wasn’t an issue. To this day, I wonder what would have happened if his dad responded differently. And I’m amazed my boyfriend even thought that. It has made me more aware of prejudices and assumptions that people have. On numerous occasions, people have been surprised to find out my boyfriend is not Asian. Little encounters like these show how we have lots more progress to go in regards to racism in dating and relationships. Mildred and Richard Loving were formative in tearing down racial boundaries, and I owe a lot to their perseverance, and love.

I’ve had a reserved, slightly fraught, relationship with yoga. My first brush with this activity was at the age of 11. My school had implemented a year of yoga, so I spent about 2 hours every week stretching, bending and balancing. Although I enjoyed outdoor activities, yoga was different. It required flexibility, something I severely lacked. Despite this, I used to have fun. The environment was relaxing and most of the class whispered/spoke to each other throughout the activity.

Since then, I’ve been practicing yoga extremely sporadically. Needless to say, I haven’t gotten much better: During the yoga session, there were many moments where I felt like I had gotten a pose, only to realise that I had not. For example, a fair number of the poses required straight legs, but my knees were almost perpetually bent. The most enjoyable was shavasana, the one where we  focus on our breathing while lying down (Only because it did not test my flexibility or balance).

However, Megan, our instructor, told us to go at our own pace. It was a reminder that everyone has different abilities, and you shouldn’t force yourself to do something that could potentially injure you. Which was an important point for me, considering my prior experiences with yoga. Overall, it was a relaxing event that was a good way to take a break from work.

Last week in the Rose Cafe, GRF Sam Legasse came in to talk about a concept that I was not very familiar with: the modern primitive. Sam is a Ph.D. student in the English department. As a Biology and Society major on the pre-med track, my field of study is quite interdisciplinary. Yet, I do not have much experience with the humanities. As a result, the unique perspectives that were discussed during the evening were very interesting, many of which I had not thought of myself.

Sam did a very good job of incorporating different media platforms into his presentation of what the modern and the primitive exactly are, on their own. Then, we attempted to piece together what exactly the modern primitive means. We came to the consensus that many of the ideas of the modern primitive stem from the concept of colonialism. I found that Josephine Baker’s The Banana Dance and The Tiller Girls exemplified modern primitivism very well. They showed the stark contrast yet juxtaposition of the modern and the primitive.

An interesting application of the modern primitive being applied in our society today is the paleo diet. This diet represents an attempt to go back to ancient times when people were supposedly “healthier.” Overall, I think it is important to understand how our experiences influence how we interpret the definition of the modern primitive in different contexts. It is easy for us to look down upon ideas rooted in the past, but what becomes clear is that our views are consciously or subconsciously influenced by our environment, and our environment has been shaped by historical events. Therefore, we must learn to appreciate the past and how it influences our conceptions of the present and future.

As a financial dependent who has not needed anything beyond regular checkups, I’ve have remained largely ignorant to the price of healthcare in this country. I follow the news and I know that many people are struggling, but I was not aware how much of health care costs exist just because someone somewhere wants a bigger profit. I’ve heard about Martin Skhreli and his absurd price hike for one drug, but I was surprised to hear how common big price hikes for life-saving drugs/operations are and the lack of legislation prohibiting such actions.

Some of the price is explained by the cost of facilities, but it is clear that many design choices in hospital construction were not made in order to deliver better care. It’s ridiculous to charge a patient for a fancy chair they’ll never sit in or their families for an experience they clearly didn’t want in the first place.

I’m definitely in agreement with Dr. Rosenthal that the healthcare system is dysfunctional, but I don’t think her tips for patient questions would have quite as big an effect as she hopes. Many patients and their families don’t have time to go looking up any information they might need, and they clearly can’t always rely on their doctors or hospitals to tell them the full truth. Dr. Rosenthal’s advice may spread awareness and get patients and doctors more knowledgeable about pricing, but some kind of reform is necessary on a higher level to punish predatory business practices or else change just won’t happen. As she brought up, individual patients are just not significant enough for insurers or pharmaceutical companies to care.

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!).

This past Friday we watched Pather Panchali a 1955 Indian film that left a profound mark on the art of film. Though I’m no film expert I really enjoy watching films that are highly coveted by film buffs and considered extremely influential to modern film. I was very impressed by the camera work in this film as we learned before watching it that the cameraman was an amateur and it was his first time filming something of this level. I found the themes in this film to be very powerful and clear, especially since they not forced or made overly obvious, they were simply strongly expressed. The strongest point of the film to me was the beautiful portrayal of the different characters, particularly in crafting their aspirations and failures in life. As we discussed, this film amazingly mirrored the social climate in India at that time, balancing the immense aspirations of average people with the failure and poverty that existed. This was arguably one of the best films I have seen in my life.

During last week’s Rose Cafe, Erin Sember-Chase spoke to us about disabilities on campus as well as obstacles she has had to face in her own life. She is the Assistant Director and Disability Counselor at Cornell Health.

As a college student, she remembered facing an obstacle in which she could not hear her professor very well. The class was called intro to theater. She sat in the front row and had a hearing aid but she could not hear the professor because not only did he not wear a microphone the room seemed to have poor sound acoustics. So, one day after class she politely went up to the professor and asked if he could wear a microphone because of the circumstances she was facing and he refused. He said to her, “As an actor, I know I can project my voice”. So she told her mother and she had to call the president of the university because there was no Student Disability Services.

The importance of the Student Disability Services was highlighted  in the Disabilities Rights Acts. People and allies banded together to get this act passed. This occurred 27 years ago.

We also discussed our experiences with disabled students. I remembered in elementary and high school how the disabled students were kept in their own classroom essentially segregated from the non-disabled students and we were never educated on why this was. Other students explained inclusion classes which were when high performance students were paired with disabled students. The way administration would make it feel, like the students were not competent and that they needed help, which effected the equality between those students.

There is also a cultural aspect with how different countries deal with disabled people. For example Erin explained how she used to have a service dog and when she was in NYC they were not as understanding as people in Toronto, Canada.

I have been apple picking once, but I never thought about what went into actually making or engineering apples. Cornell continues to amaze me with what they can do with food. An apple designed for children’s lunches may seem small, but it is actually a revolutionary idea to me. I wish I could have tried the Ruby Frost or the snapdragon, that Cornell invented. Apples are a tasty treat, but they are also money. I did not realize how much went into the apples that I eat. I truly enjoyed apple fest. The day was a perfectly crisp fall day filled with good food and better friends. It felt as if the entire Cornell community was together off of campus, all together enjoying a fun event. I will never just eat an apple again, without first wondering where it came from and how it came into being, but I will definitely eat more apples.

On Saturday, I attended the talk about Dating and Relationships. I was in awe of the turn out, there had to be like 40 people there in the little seminar room.  At first, like a lot of times where people are in a room of people they do not know, the conversation was hard to get started.

SA Andrew came up with a great idea, he had people in groups of two that have never met each other before discuss the question, which in this case was “How does Cornell students being so career oriented effect their relationships when it comes to dating?” I personally feel that it is the lack of obligation that people have when it comes to investing time into a relationship with another person. After this activity, people started opening and giving their own thoughts and opinions. I could feel the tension snap as people began to feel more comfortable. This was definitely a topic that needed to be discussed.

Also, it was really nice to see people come out on a Saturday morning to have a discussion.

Yesterday’s Real Talk at Rose was comfortable, entertaining, and informative. I generally don’t like participating in discussions, especially about something as intimate as romantic relationships, but the environment was so casual and inviting that I raised my hand to participate multiple times. I come from a moderately old-fashioned family, where I didn’t feel comfortable discussing things like dating and crushes, so having a setting where I could easily talk about my hopes and obstacles in regards to romance is extremely appreciated. I have personally never been in a romantic relationship before, but listening to others talk about their experience with dating and trying to keep a close intimate connection with someone else in this hectic and stressful academic environment was very enlightening. There was a little bit of nervousness, perhaps people were uncomfortable with opening up to acquaintances they had probably never met before, but on the whole I left feeling like I had had an interesting experience. If another discussion on dating comes up again, I will definitely show up for it.

The botanical gardens visit last weekend was absolutely charming! I’d explored the gardens before on my own and my friends, but I’d never taken an actual tour. The tour also fascinated me because I was hoping to meet someone who would teach me how to revive my daisy plant, Mira, from the dead. So I was very excited to meet our tour guide.

Our guide was sweet and extremely knowledgable- she had over twenty years of experience giving tours and taking care of the plants in the gardens. We started at the tropical plants outside the entrance of the welcome building. There, I learned that bananas grow on plants, not trees. Then, we walked to tour our first garden- the winter garden. As our group walked, our guide pointed out a gray shed. She said it belonged to a Cornell alumni and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a woman who had discovered jumping genes through her research with corn plants. It was amazing to see the place where such an amazing woman once worked. Afterwards, we walked into the first full garden of our tour.

The winter garden is full of evergreens and will be the only garden still gorgeous when winter comes. My favorite part of the winter garden tour was when an adorable dog interrupted our tour and walked between our legs. Our guide told its owner to put it on a leash because of the garden policy, but I still loved it.

Our next garden was the flower garden! It was a rainbow of color. Our guide told us that people would send messages to each other using ‘flower language’. Essentially, different flowers and colors had different messages. For instance, a yellow rose, which today represents friendship, used to mean that a woman did not want to see her suitor anymore. That was absolutely fascinating!

Next, we visited the food garden, and then the herb and medicinal garden. Our guide warned us not to touch the black peppers. Then we picked, smelled and passed around a few plants, such as a plant used to clot blood, and another used to make moth balls.

Afterwards, we exited the gardens to look at plants growing in the shade of some lofty trees. There I saw what I think is now my favorite plant- the Japanese sea anemone. It has the most beautiful pink blossoms. Our tour ended with us examining the trunks of the tallest trees. Lightening rods had been installed to redirect electricity into the ground and prevent the energy from exploding the trees.

I was sad when the tour came to the end. But afterwards, I ran up to our guide and asked her what to do with Mira, my daisy. After we talked I learned that I had been watering the poor thing top much! And now she’s coming back to life. What a knowledgeable trip.