Today I attended the chess meet and had a great time. I have been watching The Queen’s Gambit on Fridays with others in Rose House and I play chess a lot on my own so the meet was right up my alley. I have been playing people on my floor mostly so it was a lot of fun to play with other people. I particularly liked how if my game finished earlier than others I could spectate other matches. I normally play untimed games or ten-minute matches so the five-minute format was a pretty big change but it definitely was an equalizer across the board (pun intended).
Author Archives: ejm372
Trivia Saturdays
On Saturday I participated in the trivia contest. I love Kahoot and had not played in a while so it was a fun and relaxing blast to the past to take away some of the stress surrounding my prelims. I enjoyed the questions about Cornell because I definitely learned some new facts.
Building Suspense in The Queen’s Gambit
I attended the viewing of the first episode of The Queen’s Gambit last Friday. I had watched the series last semester and really enjoyed it so I thought it would be fun to watch the show again and discuss it with peers. During my second viewing, I definitely caught on to more aspects than my first time maybe due to my foreknowledge of the plot allowing me to focus on things that were not the main ideas. Notably, I found the sound effect and music in the episode very interesting. When Beth was playing chess the echo added in every time a piece hit the board was fascinating as it added a sense of urgency to the scene that was out of the ordinary considering she was only learning the game in the basement of the orphanage. The suspense made the viewer feel as if something would happen to Beth soon, but nothing related to chess affected her for the rest of the episode.
Hope in Skating
For the first week back in Rose Scholars, I attended the Friday Movie Night and watched United Skates. I was initially intrigued by the film reading the description because in my hometown both roller rinks had closed. As I watched the film I was amazed at the devotion the people in the film had for their hobby and the sense of community the roller rinks provided. I had no idea of the magnitude of the activity. Despite the unfortunate reality that is facing the people in that community as the rinks are being shut down around the country, it was inspirational to see people coming together from across the country to attend National Skate Parties to keep the traditions alive. I think my favorite part of the film was the section where they were showing all of the customized roller skates. As a kid, I had very basic department store skates, and I would never have guessed that people customized skates like the ones shown in the film.
Our Planet Pt. 2
Viewing the Jungles of episode of Our Planet expanded on the experience from the week prior. I am a biology major and I have always been fascinated with the extreme biodiversity of tropical regions. As brought up in the film, conservation of these areas is vital to ensure that all the unique species, that often are found in very limited locations on Earth, continue to have ample habitat to live. My favorite portion of the film is the section with the velvet worm as it sprays the glue on unsuspecting insects. Well I find this organism fascinating due to the seemingly extraterrestrial behavior, I also am amazed at the species resilience. Velvet worms have been on Earth for 500 million years. Its longevity is a testament to the fact that change in the natural world is a slow process, and the effects of humans on the environment that are causing rapid change cannot be matched by other organisms.
The forests around me
To be honest I am a huge fan of David Attenborough. I have seen so many of his films but every time I am so amazed by what the cameras are able to capture. I enjoyed the forest episode of Our Planet that we watched because I find it very relatable. In this area of the world, there aren’t glaciers or rainforests, but there are forests so watching the episode reminded me of the beauty that I take for granted around me because I am so used to seeing vast areas of trees. I also enjoyed the section of the film on the ability of nature to recover as they showed footage of Chernobyl today and the abundance of wildlife that has flourished in an area where humans no longer go.
Furthermore, I watched the new film A Life On Our Planet narrated by David Attenborough which focuses on the decline of the natural world over Attenborough’s life, and thus methods of conservation as well. Combining the themes I found watching these films, I was reminded of the effort needed not only to protect the most remote and pristine wildernesses but also the natural world right outside.
Working to overcome
I watched the documentary Bad Hombre last week. The film dove into the injustices of the police and prison systems in the United States with emphasis on the prejudice and profiling of Latinx populations. The current political climate stresses the issues of systemic racism as an aspect of society that immediately needs to be changed and watching this film during this time greatly complemented those notions. I found the film did a great job emphasizing how these issues have been occurring for a great deal of time through the inclusion of prejudices in the past that I had not been aware of such as with Zoot Suit clothing and the creation of Hollywood films that aimed to exploit precursing prejudices for monetary gain. The inclusion of these topics both showed the growth of the United States but also how it has not come far enough. The most impactful moment in the film for me was a section when the topic of Gang Injunctions was being discussed and members of a community spoke as to how as a community they legally fought the government that had implemented the ordinance. It was an inspiring moment that served to give hope that these issues can be overcome.
Formality
I attended the interview of Dr. Yapici and Dr. Alabi this past week. Much of the interview focused on their experiences teaching which I found highly enjoyable. I have always wanted to teach so to hear the inside scoop from two professors at Cornell was very enlightening. One topic that struck me substantially was brought up by Dr. Yapici when she said that she disliked being addressed formally in the classroom. I have had fears about this very thing as I often feel uncomfortable when addressed as “Mr. McGinnity Schneider.” I greatly prefer to be addressed by my first name in any situation but felt that maybe this was odd given no teachers I had ever had shared this preference. I was glad that during this presentation she brought up this point and how it can make the learning environment more inclusive and comfortable for all.
Dealing with hardship
I watched the movie First Man which served to illustrate Neil Armstong’s life leading up to his historic journey to the moon. Prior to watching the film, I was unaware of the significant loss experienced throughout Armstrong’s life beginning with the loss of his daughter when she is a toddler This loss shapes the portrait of Armstrong throughout the movie as he is incredibly unemotional. Loss continues in his life as multiple of his friends and colleges in the space program die in a fire. I have experienced the loss of my grandfather and I had a similar reaction and have always felt odd as many around me had much more emotional reactions. To see another have this reaction was interesting to me in that regard.
Separation
I attended the seminar on mass incarceration. Of the numerous topics that were discussed, I found the concept of Norway’s prisons that allow for the entire family of one incarcerated individual to live together very interesting. It was mentioned that individuals that are incarcerated often struggle with being away from their family and struggle connecting with their family after being released and the concept of allowing an incarcerated individual to remain in a family unit prevented this from happening. While I have no situation that is of the same magnitude as the separation experienced between an incarcerated individual and their family, I related to this as an out of state college student. Returning home often feels awkward as I grow separately from my family unit for the first time so I can see how an event such as incarceration could affect how an individual interacts with their family after extended periods of separation.
Starting Early in Graduate School Search
This week I attended the graduate student information session. A common theme of the conversation was the importance of starting early, beginning with an honest assessment of personal goals. I have known personally for a long time that I want to attend graduate school so but, I had very little knowledge of the application and acceptance process. The entire process was broken down into five fundamental steps which I found very useful in making a process as stressful and complex as this much more manageable. Additionally, the session served as an indication that I need to begin the process, at least by beginning to explore programs of interest inside my major: microbiology.
I found the information about the Personal Statement and the Diversity Statement very informative. I often struggle on applications because I cannot decide what aspects of my life to include so by offering advice such as that the personal statement should be an explanation and expansion of a resume was encouraging because then aspects of my life that tie together and are very impactful on my day to day life can be explained in more detail rather than only explained by a phrase in my resume.
Family Court Proceedings During COVID
I attended the interview of Professor Mike Fontaine and Justice Scott Miller. The most interesting topic of the interview was the nature of court proceedings during the pandemic. Hon. Miller talked about his role as a mediator during divorce and custody proceedings. I found these discussions very interesting because my parents are divorced however I was not involved in the process because I was older than 18 at the time of their divorce. It was interesting to hear about how he has to meet with the children to learn their opinions regarding whose custody they want to be placed in after a divorce. I found Hon. Miller very relatable despite holding a powerful position as a judge. I also enjoyed listening to his opinions on the virtual nature of court proceedings during the pandemic. I found it interesting how he emphasized the difference court proceedings have when the people involved are not seen such as through phone in proceedings. I always have seen judges as being very impartial and unaffected by appearance but his admission that it made differences in court proceedings was surprising.