Author Archives: Amanda Laban

Nature in Ithaca

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This week’s Rose Café featured Andy Zepp, an ILR grad and an Executive Director of the Finger Lakes Land Trust, which protects thousands of acres of land around the Finger Lakes. Most students are often stuck on Cornell’s campus and don’t recognize the beauty of Ithaca. I remember coming to Cornell and planning on going on all these nature walks and seeing all the gorges. We traveled down to Six Mile Creek and went to Buttermilk Falls but once the schoolwork started to pick up it was hard to find the time to go.

One interesting fact I learned was that there are a lot of forests used for growing hardwoods like cherry, maple, and oak. There are some sawmills around who actually ship wood all off the world. I really think this demonstrates a disconnect people have with nature nowadays. It’s easy to just sit on your laptop and watch Netflix all day and then think you have no time to spend outside with friends. Ithaca and the surrounding areas have so much to offer but yet students are secluded on campus. Instead, we spend our time at CTB, libraries and classrooms. We don’t really appreciate the location as much as we should. I think that it would be beneficial for students to get out more and visit the different Finger Lakes and gorges. Students would really appreciate Ithaca more instead of viewing it as a cold and dreary plac

The Synchrotron

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The CHESS tour allowed me to see a part of Cornell University I would have never seen before—the Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory. In fact, this laboratory is such a big part of Cornell as it consumes the most electricity on campus and it remains open 24/7 except on Tuesday mornings when it is shut down for a couple of hours for repairs (it also conserves some energy). The building has a very funny structure and is hidden from the rest of campus. Finding the building was as challenging as trying to understand the science of what they do there!

I was overwhelmed with the science of how exactly the lab operates. It’s definitely a world-class research laboratory designed by physicists to study particles—of course they could only study electrons because the lab equipment was considered too small to study other particles. Granted I thought this was crazy. Their machine for particle analysis is 3 stories high, how can that be too small!? But in comparison with labs near Chicago and Geneva, Switzerland, the circumference of Cornell’s lab is significantly smaller. Though they don’t use the particle analysis machine anymore named CLEO (the machine hasn’t been functioning for years and is currently being taken apart and the iron is being recycled), the entire lab still operates.

The CHESS lab has been a part of so many research projects. It uses high energy particles to further develop x-ray technology and analyze materials as well as further research in physics, biology, and chemistry. The synchrotron lab could be used to analyze the structure of proteins in viruses so that drugs could be designed to fight the virus. I learned a lot about applications and how research could be conducted to make significant discoveries. I am so happy to have visited the CHESS lab and seen a big part of Cornell.

Morning at the Farmer’s Market

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The Farmer’s market is one of the hottest spots in Ithaca Saturday morning. By the time we got there at 11 (which for any college student is early), it was already packed with people. The weather was beautiful and college students, vendors, and other Ithacans filled the earthy, rustic-looking farmers market. It was nice to get a sense of community and interact with other people. There really is a lot to do in Ithaca outside of Cornell and I was grateful for the chance to head over to the farmer’s market through Rose Scholars.

Walking through the farmer’s market from end to end, I realized the variety of vendors at the market. There were bakeries with delicious homemade goodies, farmers with some fresh vegetables, infamous apple cider donuts, homemade jewelry vendors, and even wine and hard cider vendors. The culmination of these vendors represent what the local Ithacans are all about. It highlights the creativity of the people through the unique homemade plates and jewelry. It highlights how environmentally friendly people are through the vegetable stands. Lastly, it highlights the diversity of people through the different food vendors from a Cuban vendor, to a gyro vendor to an Ethiopian stand.

I thought the Farmer’s market was a great trip to take to relax and really enjoy the last few weeks left in Ithaca until summer.

All About College

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Professor Schwarz gave a very interesting talk about college life at Cornell, based on his book How To Succeed in College and Beyond: The Art of Learning. As a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, he himself has witnessed the stress students feel of getting in to such a prestigious school to dealing with schoolwork during their four years and pursuing a major they are genuinely interested in. One of the things that Professor Schwarz said that resonated with me the most was to choose classes according to the professor. As a premed student, I know my choice of core science classes is limited but my HD major allows me this flexibility. I think that this is something I will apply in the future and for the rest of my college career. It’s important to choose professors that care to teach. I know that in my time at Cornell, I have taken notice that some professors are more invested in their own research than their students. I think it’s important for professors who have an interest in their students doing well and it definitely shows in their lectures.

Schwarz also gave interesting details about student life at Cornell. He talked about financial aid, and how about half of Cornell students receive some type of financial aid. He also talked about studying abroad and how students always come back with knowledge of different cultures and become more tolerant of other cultures. This is definitely something I have noticed myself, hearing stories from older students.

One thing that didn’t really settle with me was hearing Professor Schwarz talk negatively about Greek life, stating that fraternizes and sororities conform people to a certain culture. Personally, joining Greek life has given me the chance to interact and meet people that as a transfer, I never would have gotten the chance to meet. I feel that people should not focus about the way the fraternity/sorority is perceived by others, but rather if they see themselves fitting in to the house. I know that I could act as myself and tell my sisters about anything. Moreover, I think it’s great to have a support system that always looks after for your well-being.

Let’s Talk Rape Culture

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Last Sunday, Kate Harding joined us for a dinner discussion over a topic many people dare to speak about—rape and sexual assault. She talked about rape culture, which is basically a society that supports and protects the rapist more than the victim. Hearing this definition I’m sure a lot of people think that surely American culture does not support rapists—aren’t rapists prosecuted and usually sent to jail? But rape culture takes on a subtle form. It is asking if the person was drunk when they were raped. It’s asking, “Are you sure?” It’s saying that you don’t believe the person because the rapist would never doing something like that. When hearing that someone has been raped, do you approach them and ask them if they need help or support?

A lot of what Kate Harding spoke about was very eye-opening and I was so glad to attend this event. I learned that there are naps nowadays that have contracts for women/men to sign before having sex. While this may seem like a good idea, it implies that consent can’t be taken back. Actually as soon as a person says to stop, the other person must stop.

As discussed during the dinner conversation, I think that children should be taught about consent and sex early on. Television shows and media provide a false perception of what sex is like. Teaching children early on would help to combat rape culture and hopefully lead more people to start supporting the victim, not the rapist.

Behind the Sets

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I was really excited for Coach Silviu Tanasoiu of the men’s tennis team to join us for the Rose Café since I have been playing tennis myself for over ten years. Although I only played in high school and did not continue in college, I still had trouble balancing tennis practice, games and weekend tournaments while being in school. Trying to complete everything to the best of your ability can get overwhelming and tiring. Coach Tanasoiu described some of his players as going through military training, preparing for medical school and playing on the team. I can barely get through pre-med classes myself so I cannot imagine how those students manage to do it! It was really great to hear how Coach Tanasoiu recognizes that student athletes have so much to deal with and it seems that he really cares about his athletes. One example of this was demonstrated when he reached out to a player’s mother who only spoke Russian trying to involve her in the process. He also really focuses on his players working effectively to balance school, athletics and a social life. I think a lot of students including myself can really learn a lot from the discussion of student athletes, even if we are not athletes ourselves. We should all strive to work effectively so that we have time to do things that we love and spend time with friends. I think this makes school a little less stressful and more enjoyable. When you look back on your college experiences years after, you don’t want to reflect on the times you spent staying up late because of procrastinating but rather the good times.

Culture of New Technology

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On March 9th, House Professor Garrick Blalock lead the discussion for the Rose Café. The discussion was centered around the idea that technology exists that can help improve the environment and people’s health, yet most individuals do not adapt this technology. In the United States, hybrid cars can reduce emissions yet not everyone drives a Prius because it doesn’t fit their needs. This can include the price or the size of the car. Professor Blalock then discussed how Ugandans use three stone stoves whose use is equivalent to four packs of cigarettes! The health effects from these stoves cause four times the amount of deaths as malaria, which sounds crazy considering it was the first time I have heard about these stoves! Even when given a choice between cleaner stoves versus the traditional stoves, Ugandans still chose the three stone stove instead. Why? For the same reasons as Americans choose the Prius, the three stone stove is easier to use and better suited for their lives.

The technology of today’s world is constantly changing and improving. As a HD major, I can’t help but think that part of the inability for people to adapt to the new technology is habit. After so many years, our current tools and technologies have become part of our culture. In America, some people use cars to show off their wealth and take pride in the word they put into their cars. Movies like Fast and Furious also promote a culture associated with cars. Although switching to a hybrid can have a positive effect on the environment, it’s impossible to transform the culture over night. One of the reasons Ugandans may not switch over to the new, cleaner stoves is because the traditional stove is a part of their culture. I think that in order to help implement new technology, we should try and apply it to our culture so that it is better adopted.

Cooking is Fun

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Last Saturday I had the opportunity to do the thing I miss most about being home, cooking. Sure I wasn’t cooking in my kitchen but it still felt like a piece of home. When we first arrived, we learned a few cooking techniques like how to cut an onion or make biscuits. Being a somewhat avid cook, I already knew most of the information. After breaking up into our own stations, I went to the omelet station. I made avocado and bacon omelettes which actually turned out very well. House Fellow Emily Gier, who teaches Food for Contemporary Living in the College of Human Ecology, gave me great tips, like not flipping or folding the omelette until you are plating the food. After getting to taste all the amazing and healthy dishes other people made, we reconvened to talk about healthy substitutions and products we, as college students, can use. For instance, I learned that beans are a great source of fiber and protein, and to make them even healthier, you should rinse the can of beans under water to get rid of about 40% of sodium. Simple, cheap substitutions and little techniques can greatly improve the nutritional value of foods one eats. Eating healthy is so important because it give one the energy needed to study and stay active!

Aiding or Hurting?

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The documentary Poverty Inc. was eye-opening in the way we should aid people in poverty-stricken countries across the world. When one thinks about non-governmental organizations, also known as NGOs, one pictures organizations bringing food and clothing to poor countries in Africa. Until last Saturday, I thought nothing wrong with this type of aid. After all there were companies like TOMS that donated a pair of shoes for every pair of shoes purchased. I felt that companies like TOMS were making a huge difference in the world and I was glad that so many people supported the cause by purchasing the company’s shoes.

It wasn’t until watching Poverty Inc. that I realized my mindset regarding aiding the poor was completely wrong. The documentary highlighted the negative effects of simply handing out supplies to poverty-stricken countries. For one, this type of aid hurts businesses in those countries selling those supplies. So what is an alternative that would make an actual difference? The documentary recommends NGOs support local businesses and focus on the resources the country has to offer. For example, the continent of Africa is oil-rich but many countries don’t take advantage of these resources and they do not put their resources on the market. By helping to establish businesses, NGOs would help foster a healthy economy so that the people will be able to afford their own supplies and in return help one another in their business ventures.

The only concern I have for establishing businesses would be poor working conditions. In many countries, companies set up “sweatshops” filled with children sometimes and have extremely dangerous working conditions. When helping to start up new businesses I think it would be important for NGOs to go to the local government to make sure regulations are in place to protect the safety and well-being of the workers.