I think that it was really important to watch this documentary considering what has happened recently. I find the documentary extremely informative and eye-opening. I also really learned a lot from the discussion that we held after the movie. The conversation spanned from general to personal examples. As a whole, I thought the movie did a great job building context and going into the past and present of the issue. I often get distracted during documentaries, but this film did such a great job weaving the stories together that I never lost focus. Despite being only a 30-minute movie, it was very impactful and sightful.
Author Archives: smc447
Ithaca’s Nature
I really enjoyed this conversation about Planning Ithaca. During this meeting, we had in-depth Conversations with two Cornell Alumni and Rose House fellows who have extensive involvement with Cornell University and the city of Ithaca.
Gary is a member of the City of Ithaca Planning board. He’s been in Ithaca for 20 years and is mostly involved in the development of the city’s future or the Comprehensive Plan which is a very important plan for open spaces, natural resources, and buildings.
Andy’s has had a major role in Nature Conservancy, the largest environmental non-profit worldwide, and in the Land Trust in Washington DC.
Their combined experiences created a very interesting dialogue that resonated with me.
My father is a local residential home builder. I frequently hear him attend Planning Board Meetings, Conservation Commission meetings, and town hall meetings. I never considered the importance of these meetings to the general public until I heard this podcast. My biggest take away is to get involved:
- Volunteer on Ithaca nature reserves.
- Read: Ithaca Voice online newspaper has great content in conservation and upcoming development projects in Ithaca.
- Attend Meetings, open planning board meetings, write letters, form an opinion.
- Go to Andy’s Website for more info. FingerLakesLandTrust.org fllt.org
Students are transient, we are undergraduate students here for 4 years only, but our voices should be heard, and we need to make our opinions known. You never know where the future leads you. Both Andy and Gary had very diverse career paths that led them around the world and back to Ithaca.
Importance of Passion
I found this conversation appealing because it was really down to earth. The professors talk about their journey to academia and offer a perspective about their undergraduate experience.
I am always interested in what the professors would have done differently with 20/20 hindsight. Professor Alaby, Prof of Chemical Engineering, wished he had taken more classes just for the fun of it or because he was passionate about the subject. He encourages us to cherish this time in college and be open-minded.
I also liked the way he flipped the classroom and gave more time for conversation and discussions about the subject, rather than introduce the subject matter for the first time. His discussions of engineering and neuroscience interest me as an engineering student. and I could pay attention with sincere interest to his conversation. Also, his mention of finding a graduate advisor, or mentor to encourage you is really key. I’ll remember this if I’m interested in Grad School or Academia.
Getting the most out of your four years means something different to every Cornell student. For me, I learned to follow my interests, passions, and take time to take a class for the fun of it. In the end, the goal is to keep curious, learn to live with failure, be resilient, and be persistent.
Churnobyle’s Loss
Honestly, the third episode of Churnobly was really unsettling, especially the parts in the hospital. I think those gory clips were more emphatic than when the character’s mentioned the numbers of deaths. The choice to show the gory details forces the audience to realize the severe impact of the radiation. Additionally, the pregnant wife of the fireman portrayed the impact on families. This character was interesting because I was split between admiring her for her loyalty towards her husband and being concerned about her child. As a whole, I think that the wife’s character was used to show the loss and heartbreak of the people who did survive. The effect of Churnobyle exceeds direct deaths and health impacts.
Calming Nature
Due to technical challenges, we ended up watching an episode of Our planet about the Jungles. On a side note, I really enjoyed the background noise. I found just looking at the plants really peaceful. The narration was enjoyable too. I usually get bored with nature documentaries, but the narration was so well done that I was able to focus throughout the film. I admit that I did not enjoy the parts about the ants as much as the other sections. I feel that due to online classes, I spend less and less time outside, so it was really nice to see and hear nature even if I was stuck in my dorm. As a whole, it was a great way to relax.
Chernobyl: Communicating Science
My favorite aspect of the Chernobyl series is that it explains all these scientific complex situations in language that a layman can understand. The series flawlessly intertwines these scientific explanations like how a nuclear plant works into the movie without taking away from the plot. Specifically, I think that the series uses great analogies like comparing the radiation to a bullet. These analogies allow the audience to focus on the impact of science. I often struggle with explaining scientific concepts to others, so I really admire how the scriptwriters planned every sentence so that people with different background knowledge can understand what’s happening.
Listening to New Songs
I usually have a hard time getting into new music or listening to new songs because I am very impatient. When a new song comes up on Spotify, I often skip within the first few seconds. The Rose playlist was a great way to introduce new songs to me. I loved how there were so many genres from classical to kpop. I usually just listen to pop, so the Rose playlist was a great way to give breadth to the type of music that I listen to. I also enjoyed it when someone shared a song that I love. For example, I was excited to listen to airplanes by B.O.B. because I had not listened to the song in a while and it’s very motivating. All of the songs that we listened to helped me destress. I found that because I did not know all of the songs, I was able to focus on relaxing and just listening to music.
Chernobyl: Politics vs. Science
This was the second time that I was watching the Chernobyl series. I love this series and was looking forward to watching it for the whole week. When I first watched the series, I was shocked by the fact that these events happened in real life. Since this was my second time watching the series, I think that I was able to notice the small aspects and hidden foreshadows of the movie. Specifically, I noticed the interesting dynamic between politics and science that runs throughout the series. In scenes such as displaying a fireman picking up lead, the film displayed a trail of evidence of what happened. Also, the film clearly displayed the power play between politicians wanting to save their career and livelihood. As an engineer, I think that this dynamic between politics and science is very relevant to me.