The first Rose cafe I attended was with guest speaker Mr. Ryan Lombardi, the VP of student life here at Cornell, and a house fellow of Rose. The central topic of discussion was the student experience on campus and stress and mental health. For instance, in many courses a standardized curve is used to compare student scores and assign grades, and we discussed whether this causes competition and unnecessary anxiety. I feel that while most students in classes in my major are fairly open to collaboration, the curve does cause stress and causes students to compare themselves to others even at times when they are simply trying to do the best they can do.

Further, I felt we also touched upon the importance of an education at Cornell meaning more than just self-development and helping us on our way to obtain a job or graduate or professional degree. One of the purposes of an education at a leading institution of higher education is to foster an awareness of how one can help others in the community and globally with their education. This aspect of the college experience, says Mr. Lombardi, is something we need to think more about.

I also very much enjoyed Dr. Avery’s apartment, which was very cozy and well-designed.