Author Archives: mf653

Global Politics

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At this week’s Rose Café, I had the pleasure of engaging in a discussion regarding the United States and its role in global affairs with Professor Kenneth Roberts of the Department of Government. As a student interested in politics, and particularly global politics, I found our conversation both fascinating and informative. I was especially drawn to our discussion about the role of the United States in global militarization efforts, as well as how our current president appears to be unilaterally developing policy that is resulting in a shake-up of global affairs.

I don’t often have the chance to discuss global policies and politics with friends or teachers, therefore this Rose Café was a great opportunity for me to learn more about this important topic. I found it interesting how, during our conversation, Professor Roberts mentioned that, especially since the Vietnam War, there has been a partisan divide in beliefs regarding United States militarization around the world. I was intrigued when I also learned that this divide between Democrats and Republicans was exacerbated after 9/11 and the decision to enter Iraq. Another fascinating part of our discussion regarded President Trump’s policies that appear to be more America first and seem to lack considerations for other countries, prompting some concerns and possible action among our allies, particularly in Europe. Before our talk, I had no idea that countries in the European Union were considering constructing their own military alliance because of the lack of stability they felt with their relationship with the United States. This situation is alarming, but may be addressed in my opinion with international cooperation between our president and leaders throughout Europe.

Thus, I gained more historical context and knowledge about the role of the United States in global affairs after attending this talk. International affairs are important for the stability of any nation, and hopefully the United States can address its international issues in a peaceful and multilateral manner. Now, I will be able to apply what I learned in this talk by Professor Roberts to my future conversations regarding international politics while being a more informed contributor to the continuing debate on the issues involving this consequential topic.

The Law of Kneeling

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At this week’s Rose Café, I had the pleasure of engaging in a discussion regarding labor law with Professor Angela Cornell, clinical professor of law at Cornell Law School. During our group conversation, Dr.Cornell primarily spoke about the Colin Kaepernick debate and the legal implications surrounding his decision to kneel during the National Anthem prior to football games. As an avid football fan, I have been following the Kaepernick situation closely. However, I do not always get the opportunity to examine the situation through a legal lens, which is why I valued hearing from Dr.Cornell on the subject.

One of the questions that transpired during our discussion was whether or not Kaepernick’s actions were legal, since he is employed in the private sector through the NFL. I was also curious about this question, as I did not know whether Kaepernick had a legal responsibility to stand for the Anthem if his employer, the NFL, mandated him to do so. According to Dr.Cornell, due to the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, and due to the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL Players Association and the NFL, Colin Kaepernick’s right to protest was actually protected under law. Additionally, the league could not enforce its anthem policy it passed prior to this season, as it did not consult the NFL Players Association prior to its decision.

Thus, I found our talk with Dr.Cornell very interesting and engaging. I especially liked how she was personable and wanted to understand our perspectives on the situation. The next time I hear people discussing the Kaepernick debate, I can now be a more informed contributor to the conversation.

Our Intense Campus

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At this week’s Rose Café, I had the pleasure of having an open dialogue about Cornell’s student life with Ryan Lombardi, Vice President of Student and Campus Life. During our discussion, Mr.Lombardi wanted us to feel safe and comfortable sharing our experiences, and encouraged us to talk about our opinions about student life on campus. Because of the openness of the conversation, I learned from both my peers, as well as from Mr.Lombardi, about how difficult it is to foster and promote a healthy, supporting community here on campus.

It can be challenging to identify, as a student, with the broader school administration, simply due to the lack of interaction and due to the wide age gap. However, Mr.Lombardi was very easy to identify with, both because of his “Midwestern amiability,” and because, on a personal note, he played the alto saxophone in his college’s marching band, something I do here at Cornell. It was the ability to connect with Mr.Lombardi that, I believe, contributed to a lively, and at times, worrisome, conversation. For instance, Mr.Lombardi shared a story of a staff member who was resigning after about three months. Her reason was that she felt she could not help the students, as they appeared to be too “intense.” I was taken aback when I heard this, but it also made me self-reflect. After much thought, I realized that it was true: I am a very intense student who cares a lot about my academics and other activities. I help contribute to this atmosphere of “intense” student life. Now that I recognize this, I am going to work on toning down my “intensity,” whatever way possible, without toning down my care and passion for what I do.

Overall, I felt our discussion with Mr.Lombardi was very productive and self-reflective of the culture we as students, as well as faculty members and staff, generate here on campus. I now hope to strike a balance between intensity and passion, and I also hope to contribute to a caring, healthy campus environment. Our time at Cornell is what we make of it, so I hope to ensure the remainder of my time here is spent creating an inclusive campus community, and not continuing to contribute to the apparent “intense” culture.

Friday Fright

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At this week’s Friday film, I had the opportunity to watch the movie, “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Although it is considered a Halloween classic, I never actually had the opportunity to watch the movie in full. The story of the movie was certainly not what I had expected, given what I had heard. For instance, I knew that the movie intertwined the holidays of Halloween and Christmas, but I wasn’t sure how Tim Burton actually did this in the film. Having the main character, Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween Town, stumble across a door leading to the mysterious place named Christmas Town, in my opinion, was a creative way to introduce the holiday of Christmas in a movie whose main focus was Halloween. I also liked how Tim Burton showed the contrast of the scary, dark association of Halloween with the joyous, light association of Christmas by having Jack Skellington bring gifts from Halloween Town, such as severed heads and flying toys, to the unsuspecting people of Christmas Town, who usually expect fun presents from Santa. Additionally, having Santa save Christmas for Christmas Town from Jack Skellington’s mess was a great way to conclude the film on a bright note. Overall, I enjoyed the film and appreciate these elements that contribute to “The Nightmare Before Christmas” being an everlasting and popular movie.

Best Behavior

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At this week’s Rose Café, I had the opportunity to learn from Mary Opperman, Vice President and Chief Resource Officer at Cornell, about the do’s and don’ts of the workplace. As a junior looking for internships and eventual full-time positions, it was interesting to hear about what irritates supervisors and how to avoid such behaviors. Out of the many lessons Ms. Opperman discussed, two stood out to me the most: never make excuses, and don’t try to bring down your colleagues in order to enhance your own image.

I have only ever had one paid job in my lifetime, but I was fortunate that my boss was friendly and accommodating. But as I begin my internships and job searching, I realize that I will not necessarily have the same relationship with by boss; therefore, it is important for me to learn the norms and behaviors of the workplace. Ms. Opperman’s lesson to “never make excuses” resonated with me, as my teachers and former athletic coaches used to emphasize the importance of accountability. I now know that, in the workplace, being unaccountable for one’s actions can not only upset a supervisor, but can also decrease one’s image in the work environment. Additionally, Ms. Opperman’s lesson to “not bring down your colleagues in order to enhance your own image” also stood out to me, as I feel that this is a common tactic used not only in the workplace, but also in school and on athletic teams. I appreciate how Ms. Opperman stressed that improving one’s image comes from good work and hard work, while also noting that bashing colleagues can lead to a sour company culture, and can actually end up hurting one’s own image. Thus, I hope to take the lessons from Ms. Opperman’s talk and apply them to my future internships and full-time jobs. I will be cautious to avoid the poor workplace behaviors Ms. Opperman discussed while working diligently to ensure that I am not only an effective worker, but also a good colleague.

Nature’s Gorges

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Our discussion about the Ithaca gorges, as well as other topics surrounding nature in New York, with Todd Bittner at this week’s Rose Café was both interesting and eye-opening. As a person in a major that does not involve science, I truly appreciated Mr. Bittner’s thorough explanations about how the Ithaca gorges formed, and the scientific background explanations to other natural events, such as the formation of Cayuga Lake. However, it was the end of our conversation about Cornell history and the development of the gorge trails that intrigued me the most.

Mr. Bittner began his talk describing Pangea, where all the continents were pushed together, as a preface for his later discussion on gorge formation. I was surprised to learn that, during the time of Pangea, Ithaca was close to the equator, something I simply cannot picture. Further in our discussion, I was intrigued both by the photos Mr. Bittner passed around showing the anatomy of a glacier, as well as how he described the glacial covering of North America, where much of the United States and Canada was covered by glacial ice. Additionally, although I do not understand the scientific mechanisms involved in the process, it was interesting to hear about how the erosion of rocks, and the difference between soft and hard rocks, are partly responsible for the gorges we see in Ithaca.

Before we wrapped up our talk, Mr. Bittner shared some history about Cornell and the development of campus and the gorge trails. Mr. Bittner stated that West Campus was part of Ezra Cornell’s original piece of land that he purchased before he bought other land to form the school’s campus. In another aspect of Cornell history, it was amazing to see a document from the early 20th century showing the plan to develop the gorge trails and the cost of such a project. In today’s dollars, adjusting for inflation, the initial cost of the project was only a couple million dollars. To put this into perspective, Mr. Bittner said that just the renovation of one gorge trail a few years ago cost about three million dollars. This was astonishing to me, both the history of Cornell, and its part in the development of the gorge trails and how relatively inexpensive such a project was. I hope to continue learning about the history of the gorges as well as Cornell’s place in that rich history.

Everyday Entrepreneur

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Every day it seems I hear something about a new innovation or startup company. What I don’t typically hear, however, is the work that goes into the idea, design, and implementation of such companies. In his talk at this past week’s Rose Café, Peter Cortle discussed how he became an entrepreneur at a young age, tips on how we as students can become entrepreneurs, and the plethora of resources on campus for students looking to start their own company, app, or business. As a student with a career goal of having my own private practice law firm, I was particularly interested to hear about entrepreneurship and the concept of selling yourself and your product.

Throughout our discussion, Mr. Cortle raised various points about the beginning processes of entrepreneurship that stood out to me. For instance, he said that customer acquisition and customer response to an idea or product should occur in-person, rather than through an online survey or through the phone. This point made me realize the importance of personal interaction when first implementing an idea or business. For me, in law, this means that I need to assess a specific location, such as a city, and talk to individual people in that location to hear and understand their specific concerns and different legal needs to determine if that is where I should practice law. Mr. Cortle also emphasized the alumni network of Cornell, and how many successful entrepreneurs who went to Cornell are more than willing to help and give advice to current students aspiring to be entrepreneurs and business owners.

I find it comforting the number of resources Cornell offers for prospective entrepreneurs in a variety of fields, even for future lawyers looking to own their own practice one day, like me. I found that Mr. Cortle’s talk was very informative and even helped me reaffirm my own career goal of owning a private law practice one day. I hope to use the lessons learned from Mr. Cortle’s talk, such as the idea of selling yourself, along with Cornell’s vast resources, in order to assist me in accomplishing my goal.