Election night last Tuesday left me feeling optimistic, but not ecstatic. I felt a roller coaster of emotions in the Rose Dining Room as I watched CNN report the results. My home state, Ohio, elected another Republican governor- sad; Ohio elected a democratic senator I have supported for awhile-happy; Beto lost Texas- sad; a Democrat won Senate in Nevada- happy. As a democrat who feels disheartened and disgusted with the current political leadership and climate, I feel relief in the Democrats’ victory of taking back the House, however, I was disappointed in the seemingly lack of a blue wave. Ideally, I hoped for a complete denouncing of Trumpism across the country and its inherent racism, sexism, xenophobia, transphobia, etc. A week after election night and with most votes now counted, it seems that it can now be said there was in fact a blue wave. Since election night, Democrats have now picked up the most House seats since Watergate; Krysten Sinema, a democrat, has won a Senate seat in Arizona- a historically red state; and the governor race in Georgia has become even more close as Stacey Abrams might have a slim chance of winning. I have hope that our country will continue to move in a positive direction and become more equal, accepting and inclusive than ever before.
Author Archives: mim52
Falcons and Hawks and Owls, Oh my!
The Cornell Raptor Program came to Rose last week to teach us about their program and different kinds of raptors. Each bird was brought out one by one and the Raptor Program members taught us facts about the bird, while we were able to look at it interacting with its new environment of the Rose Common Room. Although I am not much of a nature/animal person, these birds absolutely amazed me. Being able to see hawks and owls so up close was a once in a life time experience- there is something so awe-inspiring about being able to look a wild animal in its eyes. I also learned so much from the students that I did not know! For example, many people think that the cheetah is the fastest animal in the world, but really the fastest animal is the peregrine falcon- one of the birds that was brought in. Lastly, I was inspired and impressed by the passion the students of the Raptor Program had for the program and the birds they worked with. Now whenever I see a hawk flying in the sky, I will remember the ones I was able to see in detail during this event.
Making Writing Less Daunting
This past Thursday I attended GRF Sam’s writing workshop on cover letters and grant proposals. This mini-seminar began with me telling Sam my usual writing method- making an extremely-detailed and long outline and then tweaking this outline into my actual paper. I was grateful to hear from Sam some examples of other writing approaches that could be more helpful. He told us about the Pomodoro method, which entails setting a certain amount of time to work straight without any distractions, such as thirty minutes, then taking a little break, such as five minutes, and then continuing writing again without any distractions. Sam also suggests to give oneself setting changes and breaks during an intense writing session. He also highly recommends to have a set time every day dedicated for just writing and to never skip this session. A technique suggestion he gave us that I have never thought about doing is to write the part of the essay that I feel most comfortable with first. This tip will be extremely helpful for me in future essays because I often find myself staring at a blank screen for a long time before beginning my essay; sometimes it is difficult to start with an introduction before even writing the meat of the paper.
We also read an example cover letter and grant proposal, which were really helpful. Although I will not be needing a grant proposal any time soon, I am currently writing cover letters for internship applications for next summer. Reading an example letter and hearing other scholars’ and Sam’s opinion on it was super helpful. I am so glad I was able to attend this workshop, helping me see writing as not something to fear but something to conquer!
Therapy Time at the Johnson!
Today I went to a clay sculpting class at the Johnson museum where I made a mug. More than just fun, I found the activity highly therapeutic. The workshop leader instructed us to continuously hurl down our balls of clay onto the table. The loud SMACK the clay made as it hit the table felt so stress and anger releasing. After a long week of studying and worrying about prelims, it was a nice change of pace to use another part of my brain and spend time relaxing and creating. The workshop leader also explained to us the origin of two clay mugs on display in the museum. I came to the Johnson only a couple of weeks ago with one of my friends who visited Cornell from home and we admired these same mugs then. It was wonderful to see them again, this time with new information about the artist and her techniques.
As a self-identified horrible artist, it was nice to go out of my comfort zone and attempt to create as nice of a mug as possible. The result was not the most beautiful creation ever, but it is always gratifying to be able to own things that you have made yourself. I am happy I got to take time out of a full day of studying to mindlessly create in a comfortable, fun space.
A Brief Glimpse into the U.S. Healthcare System
Last week I attended Professor Sean Nicholson’s Rose Cafe talk. Professor Nicholson discussed the pharmaceutical industry for most of the time, a topic which I found very interesting. He touched on why the prices of drugs in the United States are so high, drug patents, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and how Congress influences the pharmaceutical industry. Honestly, I found Nicholson’s talk slightly hard to follow because the topic of healthcare in the United States is so complex and something with which I am not too familiar.
What I was able to gather: drug prices in the United States are astronomically high compared to other OECD countries and that patents, FDA processes, and Congress are in part to blame for these prices.
Although it was difficult for me to absorb the information Professor Nicholson provided, I enjoyed getting a brief glimpse into the complexities of this country’s healthcare system. This talk was so interesting to me that it has inspired me to want to learn more about these issues to the extent that I hope to take a class next semester or next year on the U.S. healthcare system. The current state of the pharmaceutical and medical industry cannot continue the way it is now as the average American, even many well-off Americans, cannot afford basic medical necessities. Professionals of every sector- law, politics, healthcare, business- need to pay attention to this issue and propose solutions.
A Look into One Man’s Life
This past Thursday I went to Cornell Cinema and watched the documentary In the Last Days of the City by Tamer El Said. Before the movie began, El Said gave a brief introduction to himself and the movie. I have never before seen a film with the filmmaker present, so it was a really cool experience to watch a documentary about one’s life, and have the person physically in the room with me. It was also my first time to Cornell Cinema, so it was really cool to be able to experience that.
I found the film very artistic and intriguing. It explores so many themes- war, aging, love, death, friendship, etc. In one of my classes last semester, I read a book and watched a documentary about the Egyptian Revolution of 2011- the time and place in which this film took place. I was happy to have the political background knowledge to the film in order to better understand some of its dynamics. My favorite aspect of the film was its ability to transport me to another place and culture. The whole dialogue is in Arabic and it shows the minimal everyday parts of what life would be like living in Cairo. It shows coffee shops, different homes, dance studios, work places, etc. With little to no exposure to the Arab world, I loved seeing such an intimate part of its culture. El Said’s film is a beautiful portrayal of the continuation of life during a time of turmoil and confusion through the love and bonds of family and friends. I am so glad I was able to see it!
Insight into Life as a Local Judge
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Judge Scott Miller’s perspective on his role as a criminal defendant and his thoughts on the country’s current political state. I have always wondered about the moral dilemma of acting as a criminal defendant for someone that the defender knows to be guilty. Judge Miller explained the situation to me in a way that made sense- even if he knows his client is guilty, his job is to ensure that his client is not found guilty without proper evidence and receives the lowest sentencing possible. I thought the most interesting part of the night was when Judge Miller told the story of his first case- a young black man who did something wrong- he had an unlicensed gun in his possession. However, as Judge Miller explains, when you look closer at what occurred, the young man was really in a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time due to the biases of the police officers who pulled him over. Situations like this are why criminal defense lawyers are so important. I also really appreciated Judge Miller’s explanation of the 25th amendment and how it could theoretically be used to impeach President Donald Trump. I am currently pre-med, so it was nice to have a change and hear a talk about government and law.