Author Archives: Kay Wilson

Is a Career In Social Justice Possible?

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I was extremely excited to hear Laura Rodriguez de Simons speak about turning activism into a career. I’ve always felt called to activism. I knew I wanted to help make the world a better place since before I knew that I needed a job someday. Hearing Laura Rodriguez de Simons speak about choosing activism as a career was simultaneously encouraging and discouraging.

I was thrilled to hear the story of a woman who had successfully turned passion into her life’s work. She told us about her work promoting sexual health. She detailed her experiences as an advocate for immigrants. She also told us about her work at the advocacy center.

I already knew that the advocacy center was a great place. This semester I assistant directed Cornell’s production of Vagina Monologues. All proceeds from the production went to the advocacy center. It was amazing to hear about all the great services that the advocacy center provides. They help thousands of members of our community.

It was so wonderful to hear about Laura’s fulfilling experience. It is so rare to hear about people who actually devote their life to social justice.

I was slightly discouraged by Laura’s advice to people who aspire to have a career in social justice. Laura’s advice was to volunteer at a nonprofit for awhile before working for one. This was extremely frustrating to hear.

Imagine it like this. You spend four years getting a degree in accounting. You put yourself into serious debt. You suffer for this degree, but its worth it because this is what you want to do with your life. Then someone suggests to you that you just do everyone’s taxes for free for a year. After all, thats the only way you’ll know if you really like being an accountant.

I don’t think that Laura’s advice was wrong. I understand that nonprofits do not have the means to pay people like businesses do. I recognize that I will probably have to volunteer for a while before I can work at a nonprofit. But that doesn’t make it any less frustrating.

Sometimes it feels like you have to be rich in order to help people. You have to have the financial security to volunteer for a few years in order to work at a nonprofit. You have to write grant applications for money to fund your summer internships, rather than feeling secure in your financial situation.

I was excited to hear about someone making a career out of social justice. I am filled with more doubt than ever that I will ever be able to.

Research Woes

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Though I came to this week’s Rose Cafe expecting to hear a talk on China and the US economy, I was pleasantly surprised to be hearing from Professor Andrew Mertha instead. Professor Mertha spoke about Cambodia. More specifically, he talked about a brief history of Cambodia, focusing specifically on Khmer Rouge.

Khmer Rouge is a group that controlled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Under Khmer Rouge, over 1/7th of the population of Cambodia died. This was due to forced labor and inhumane conditions.

The most interesting part of Professor Mertha’s talk was the trouble he encountered during his research. While researching, Professor Mertha had to work around being denied access to sources. He eventually found the sources he needed, but couldn’t find anyone to translate them accurately. Through a stroke of luck, he had a student who had a grandmother in China that had first hand experience with the topic. Professor Mertha then travelled to China to spend weeks talking to people who could accurately translate these materials.

Hearing the trouble that he had with research made me feel reassured. As a student, its easy to assume that professors are different. They almost don’t seem like regular people. Professor Mertha made me realize that professors struggle just as much as I do.

A Memory

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When I was in sixth grade, I desperately wanted a turtle. I begged my parents for months. I did all types of research. I was obsessed. Eventually, my parents gave in.

We went to a small local pet store to look at turtles. The man in the pet store admittedly did not know anything about turtles, but I did. I picked out a small red eared slider. He was about the size of the palm of my hand. I named him Neptune and we were inseparable.

Today, Neptune is about the size of my head. I couldn’t bring him to college with me, but my parents still take care of him at home.

Unfortunately, he has been very sick lately. My parents have had to take him to the vet twice in the last month. I’ve been worried about him in the way that all kids at college worry about their childhood pets. He’s both a member of the family and a symbol of my childhood.

At Studio Thursday at the Johnson, I got to relive my youth and commemorate my childhood pet at the same time.

We were led into the studio and given a big block of clay to work with. The clay was gray and quickly covered our hands. I relived the child-like excitement of getting dirty. Then, as I played with the clay, my mind wandered to Neptune. Suddenly, I was inspired.

I recreated my tiny new turtle, just like I remembered him from sixth grade. I’m still worried about Neptune’s recovery, but for a moment, I felt a little better.

Words We Don’t Say

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Warning: The following involves sexual assault and rape culture.

We, the Cornell community, have a problem with sexual assault. It happens here. It happens to people we know, people we love, people we respect. It is done by people we know, people we love, people we respect. Admitting it is the first step to fighting it.

Kate Harding, author of Asking For It, knows about our problem with sexual assault. She knows about it because it is the same problem that plagues college campuses everywhere. During our discussion with Kate Harding, I heard a lot of really interesting things. My peers provided some of the most interesting points of discussion.

Heading into the room, we were all at different points. Some of us knew all too well about what rape culture can look like and how it can harm us. Others did not know exactly what rape culture meant. Regardless of where we entered the room, we were all ready to talk.

Some people shared their experiences with rape culture. I found it interesting that rape culture could touch so many parts of our lives. It impacts our sex lives, the music we listen to, and even our experience in the class room. Some people are never even aware of it.

One particular thing that struck me about the discussion was the discourse around the word “rape.” At one point, Harding said that using the word rape evoked a strong reaction. She pointed out that the word was being phased out of our laws and vocabulary. Instead, people tend towards the more palatable phrase “sexual assault.”

It took me a while to sort through my feelings about this discussion. I think sexual assault is a very useful term. I also think that everyone has a right to use what ever words they feel comfortable with to talk about their experiences.

But to me, the word rape is absolutely necessary. I think the strong reaction it evokes is absolutely called for. I think you should recoil when you hear it. I think discussing it should make you uncomfortable.

I just wish we were as upset by the action as we are by the word.

Soil Does Matter

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Who knew soil was so important? Not me.

At this week’s Rose Cafe, I learned that soil is a lot more than just dirt. Soil is composed of different nutrients. It is vital to agriculture, food security, and fighting climate change.

Since I am not heavily involved in environmental science, I only have a loose grasp on how climate change works. I know that carbon emissions contribute to the overall rise in the Earth’s temperature. I know that green house gasses are produced through industrial activity, cars, and even live stock. I had no idea that dirt also emitted carbon.

At this event, I learned that 25% of the world’s carbon emissions come from soil. One way this happens is through decomposing organic matter. If organic matter decomposes in the open air, it produces carbon that becomes a part of the atmosphere. If decomposing organic matter is charred and buried, then that carbon is returned to the soil.

There are many benefits to carbon rich soil. Carbon rich soil helps to reduce carbon emissions. It can reduce waste product. Carbon rich soil also helps to eliminate food shortages by making soil more fertile.

Overall, the composition of the soil matters a lot more than I would have ever thought. Through innovative ways of recycling organic matter, we can reduce carbon emissions and decrease food insecurity.

 

Undocumented

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The DREAM Act. Another example of America’s constant need to criminalize immigrants. Sure the DREAM Act may have had good intentions. Allowing undocumented youth to remain in the US is a cause that I can support. But the DREAM Act did not only affect undocumented youth. In allowing undocumented youth to remain in the country, the DREAM Act criminalized undocumented parents.

Forgiving one group while criminalizing another is not real progress. It is simply reassigning hatred. America has always fed on xenophobia and racism. Undocumented youth are just one of many victims of this disturbing trend.

For further proof of this, look at Donald Trump.

Donald Trump has run an entire bid for the presidency based entirely on hate-mongering and racism. At his rallies, he boasts about his plan to build a wall. To turn people away. To further isolate our friends and neighbors from one another. And people love him. They say he’s finally an “honest politician.” And in a way he is honest. He’s honest about what the ugliest side of America looks like. He’s honest about his hatred and bigotry

The DREAM Act might try to be a good thing, but its not. As long as a human beings existence is being criminalized, the DREAM Act is coming from a place of hatred too.

What To Do

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Garrick Blalock’s talk gave me a lot to think about. He began by asking a simple string of questions designed to get us to think about what it takes to get people to do something thats good for them. His example for us was driving a Prius. We all know that Prius’s are better for the environment than traditional cars, but few people drive them. We thought about the reasons people had for not driving a Prius. Everything from style to cost was mentioned.

Then we applied these concepts to clean burning stoves. People who have cooked over open fires for their entire lives show some resistance to investing in a cleaner alternative. Some of the reasons might be similar. What seemed to be a major obstacle was convenience. Cleaner alternatives are costly, different, and difficult to get and maintain.

My issue with the conceptualization of this issue started in the first section. Prius are great, and it would be wonderful if more people drove them. They’re not accessible to many people. But whose fault is that? It is certainly not the fault of the working class people who can’t afford them.

One of the questions Blalock asked tried to show the importance of the long term returns on a Prius. He basically lead us to say that if you’re buying a car, the cost difference between a Prius and a regular car can easily be made up for by the money you save in gas. But who is buying new cars? Certainly no one where I grew up. I don’t think I know more than five families from my neighborhood that could have considered buying a new car from a dealership.

So whose fault is it? Its not the fault of working class people. Its not the fault of the people who can’t switch to the cleaner stove either. The entire system is flawed. Targeting the behavior of the people who are struggling is no way to make a change.

Another Rocky Movie?

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“Another Rocky movie? Why?” That was my original reaction when I heard about Creed. I wasn’t necessarily excited by the prospect of watching Rocky take on another big challenge. Sure, I love a training montage as much as the next girl. But isn’t the concept a little played out?

Then I started to hear some of the reactions. People loved this movie. They were raving. For some reason, the excitement of the earlier films had been recaptured. I knew then that I eventually had to see it.

Just as I expected, watching a couple hours of Sylvester Stallone was a little underwhelming. What I did not expect was his costars.

Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson brought this movie to life. They each gave incredible, heartfelt performances. Watching Donny and Bianca fall in love was the highlight of the film. I was routing for their love more than I was routing for Adonis Creed as a boxer.

So it turns out I was right and wrong. Yes, Rocky is a little over done. I didn’t care about the boxing story. Its time to let poor Sylvester Stallone retire in quiet dignity.

But the movie was still worth watching. Michael B. Jordan breathed fresh life into the tired story line. And Tessa Thompson made me care about the movie even when I didn’t care about the boxing. Overall, I’m glad I saw the movie.

Straight Outta the Headlines

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Since it hit the theaters, people have been raving about Straight Outta Compton. On Sunday, I got to find out why.

Straight Outta Compton was everything I wanted and more. The story of N.W.A. was properly immortalized. I was captivated by the trials that the group experienced. I was routing for them, right along with the rest of the theater. But this film was so much more than just good.

The story of N.W.A. was a backdrop for an even bigger phenomenon. Police brutality was the true catalyst for the story. Through the movie, the members of N.W.A. were assaulted, beaten, and terrorized by the police. They dealt with this mistreatment throughout their lives, from the time they were growing up until they were huge stars. Though relationships and loyalties changed through the movie, the intolerable behavior of the police remained constant.

The reason that the inclusion of police brutality was so hard hitting is because it is not a problem from several decades ago. Its a real, enduring danger to millions of people.

Throughout the film, real news footage of police brutality was included. Though this footage was from the 1992 beating of Rodney King, it could have been from any one of a number of recent cases of police brutality. For me, the most chilling moment of the film was when someone said, “At least they got it on tape, now the LAPD is in trouble.” Obviously in the Rodney King case, just like in so many cases today, this was not true. The police got away with senselessly beating an unarmed black man, just like they do every day all over the country, regardless of video recording.

As I left the theater, names flooded through my head. Names of people who had died at the hands of police. I was shocked at how many I knew. I was even more shocked at how many more there are that I don’t know. In 2015, an estimated 1202 citizens were killed by police officers in the U.S. (copcrisis.com).

The U.S. has made no progress on combating police brutality in the two decades since Straight Outta Compton took place.