It was really interesting to listen to the LWYL Cafe about prison arts. Jennifer Stoever, a professor at Binghamton University, presented on her research that she refers to as “The Sonic Color Line”. I had never before considered the fact that racism and stereotypes can be an issue through sound, and not only the visual senses. Her research incorporated her own experiences as a teacher and analyzes the power distribution in a classroom. This was really interesting to me, and I had never before thought about connotations with “quiet” and “loud” in terms of the different stereotypes that people have. She further peaked my interest when asking questions like “What does curiosity sound like?” I love learning about different angles from which you can address a problem, and I think it would be interesting to learn more about the way sounds impact stereotypes in our society!
Author Archives: atg55
Nurturing Future Leaders
It is was really interesting to hear about the unique position that higher education is in in addressing social injustice. Ajay Nair, the president of Arcadia University, provided interesting insight into understanding how university leadership addresses inequalities and strives to allocate resources to fix issues that they see. Both him and Professor Bradley spoke on the importance of encouraging student activism. President Nair provided an interesting point when he said that students should feel comfortable raising their voices on issues, and the true experiences of the students at the university should match the promotional materials of the college. They both offered a perspective I hadn’t thought about before – colleges are teaching the next generation of leaders, so they should encourage students to take the lead on issues that are important to them.
Understanding our criminal justice system
The Learning Where You Live Cafe that centered on the criminal justice system was an interesting conversation. Professor Anna Haskins raised a really interesting point that I had not considered before. She talked about educational outcomes with respect to the criminal justice system, emphasizing the importance of having a parent figure at home to help teach the student, especially at the elementary level. She noted that the educational system can sometimes be seen as an organization with authority that incardinated individuals don’t want to participate in. Her analysis focuses on the impact of the criminal justice system on the community, not just individuals. It is a perspective that I had never thought about before, and I enjoyed learning more about it.
Finding Mentors in Others
I really enjoyed listening to the conversation with Professor Chris Alabi and Nilay Yapici. It was fascinating to hear the stories on how they ended up at Cornell and their transitions as they came to the United States from other countries. Both professors emphasized the importance of finding mentors in others. Professor Alabi related a story where he probably would not have gone to grad school if it had not been for his mentor during undergrad. He also mentioned the importance of a mentor when transitioning from grad school to becoming on the faculty of an institution. His stories showed the importance of having mentors who believe in you and encourage you to pursue challenges that you might not think you can do. I found it inspiring how he overcame internal obstacles as he called them to get to where he is today. The conversation made me realize the importance of listening to the advice and the guidance of others.
Inspiring Talks
After attending the Rose Cafe talk with Professor Julia Felippe and Professor Andre Kessler, I was filled with new energy and inspiration. Both professors shared stories about their background, and provided us insight into the challenges they’ve faced along the way while getting where they are today. One thing theme of the conversation that really resonated with me was the advice that Professor Felippe gave. She mentioned that there is not just one order that your life has to follow. Hearing her experiences with veterinary school really inspired me that there is time to figure out what I would like to do. Professor Kessler also mentioned that we should embrace every situation, even challenging situations, and this helped to put in perspective that we should make the best of every situation, even if we don’t know at the moment where it will lead. This advice was inspiring, especially as we are going through a pandemic and are at a point in our lives when we are shaping who we want to become!
Powerful Persistence
I really enjoyed watching the film “More Than A Word” this past Friday night. It told the story of the Native American community’s efforts to change the name of the Washington R*dskins football team. While the film documented the many setbacks they faced, I found it inspiring how the community was so passionate about making this change. No matter the setback they faced, they all set aside their individual differences and many came together as a community to support each other and fight for what they believe in. It is inspiring to see a group of people that persistently advocate change!
Sounds: From signals to music
I really enjoyed the Learning Where You Live Cafe on the sounds of protest. Typically, when one thinks of music, they think of classical, pop, rock, etc. However, this conversation really opened my ears to all sorts of different sounds that can have meaning. I really enjoyed learning about how people are able to express themselves through sounds that were common to their upbringing, and sounds that have substantial meaning in different cultures. I am taking a signals and systems class this semester, and we have talked about how different signals are represented as music. This has allowed me to gain insight into the mathematical background behind music, and this seminar really inspired me to think about the cultural significance of music as well!
A Conversation Goes A Long Way
After attending the Fellow Interview with Mike Fontaine and Scott Miller, I realized how much you can learn about a person in a short 60 minute conversation. Both fellows were very open with us, and shared different aspects of their life story. I really enjoyed being able to learn more about their experiences and how that has shaped who they have become. Professor Fontaine, for example, has studied the classics, and told a story about his experiences publishing his new book “How to Drink” during the Covid pandemic. I found this very neat, as I remember hearing about one of the promotional events he was going to be having for his new book last year just before we closed due to the pandemic. It is amazing how much our world has changed since then, and hearing about his process of trying to promote his book when many events he had planned were cancelled was inspirational. Similarly, Scott Miller shared his experiences of being a judge without a courtroom, as the trials he runs are now via zoom. I had never thought about this before, but the personal impact that being in the same room has on many conversations is really important, especially in a trial setting. Learning about both of their experiences and how they’ve adapted during the pandemic inspires me that we all must be open to change and be able to make the best of any situation.
Finding the Future
The Grad School Panel hosted by Zach Grobe has provided me with a little more insight into what I want to do in the future. It really helped to get a different perspective on the grad school application process and also hear from two people who have done it before! While there seems like there are a lot of similarities with the undergrad application process, Zach explained how there are different factors that should play into your decision. After all, grad school is a big commitment that should be based on the research work you would actually be doing, the location since you are going to be there for 5+ years, and much more. One thing I didn’t realize before was that it is very helpful to talk to current grad students at the school and get a sense for not only the program but the living situation. As with many things, sometimes the best insight comes from people who have gone through the experience before, and that was certainly true during this seminar.