Author Archives: Taylor MacBain

Life Long Learning

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This week’s Rose cafe focused on how to succeed in life, before, during, and after college. Professor Schwartz began with some common themes, about taking the right classes and doing the right things to get into college. I found the more interesting part to be the discussion on what to do in college. I thought the most valuable piece of advice given was to pick classes based on teachers, not subjects. I already try to do this, but Professor Schwartz’s explanation was extremely convincing.

I also found the discussion on greek life to be fascinating. As a student who does not participate in greek life, I fundamentally agree with a lot of the things he was saying. I also think greek life prevents diversity, and promotes one way of thinking. I am glad that the Professor brought it up, because it often seems like everyone on campus is pro greek life. It was nice to learn that only 35 percent of students actually participate in the greek life, and that the negatives associated with it are recognized.

More Than Dirt

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Having grown up with avid gardener parents, I actually know a thing or two about soil. My father used to pay to have giant piles of “special” dirt delivered to our house, because, as it was explained to me, it was just better for the plants than the dirt that was already in the ground. Though I always thought my dad was a little bit crazy, Dawit Solomon’s Cafe talk helped me understand just how vital good soil is to an environment.

There are the obvious reasons that soil matters, to grow food and build buildings on, but soil is also a reflection on the state of the environment as a whole. Soil isn’t something that I would expect to be impacted by climate change, but it is. Higher temperatures and pollution change the carbon content of soil, which affects the fertility of the soil and can make it impossible to farm.

Another interesting thing Dawit Solomon said is that there have been several studies conducted of indigenous tribes in South America and Africa, where the soil is seemingly resistant to the changes happening on the Earth. He suggested that these tribes possibly have a method to save soil from the negative effects of climate change, which would obviously be ideal. Researchers are currently looking into replicating these methods, which will help lower carbon levels in the air and reduce climate change.

Tips for Success On and Off the Court

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I’m going to be honest and say that I didn’t decide to go to Cafe this week because I was interested in the topic. I decided to go because the time was convenient and I wanted to fit another event in before Spring Break. I thought the talk would focus exclusively on tennis players, and at best would stretch out to encompass all student athletes, which isn’t really something I can relate to or want to learn about. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Coach Tanasoiu’s advice, and found it to be applicable to not only tennis players or students, but to everyone, in all aspects of their lives.

Coach Tanasoiu essentially told us to take control of our lives, and be very deliberate with our actions. He reminded us that we cant let expectations overwhelm us, and that it is our responsibility to put a little effort in every day to make ourselves better. Perhaps the most important part of Coach Tanasoiu’s motivational speech was the part about time management. He talked about the crazy schedule the tennis team has, and how they have to use their time very precisely and exactly. They aren’t allowed to use lack of time as an excuse, and must learn how to manage their time effectively. This is something that I think everyone should learn, not just student athletes. The advice that Coach Tanasoiu gives his players is definitely sound, and should be followed by everyone.

Silent Students

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The presentation by the Dream Cornell Students was not actually one of my favorite events, but it was still very interesting. This may be because I fundamentally disagree with a few of the things the students said. I agree one hundred percent that we need immigration reform in America, and that it isn’t fair the way undocumented students are treated. They should not have to live in constant fear of deportation, and they should be able to seek help when they need it without fear of retribution. However, I disagree with some of the arguments they were making. I do think a path to citizenship should be easier, but I don’t think it’s fair to say that just because your parents are good people automatically means they should be citizens. I am not trying to be rude or disrespectful to anyone’s parents, and I do believe they worked hard to get you here, but it seems very ungrateful to say that if you gain citizenship through acts like the Dream Act, then your parents deserve automatic citizenship too, because they made you who you are and gave you everything. I think we need to make it easier for adults to become citizens, but I don’t think it’s fair to disparage the act, which is certainly a step in the right direction, because it doesn’t cover everything you want.

One thing I did completely agree with the Dream students on is the treatment of international students. The University has recently decided that DOCA students will start getting federal financial aid, while international students will no longer be accepted on a need blind basis. This is absolutely not a fair tradeoff, and I am glad the Dream students are acting in solidarity with international students instead of just accepting this advance as a win for them.

Memory Wars

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I always enjoy events at the Johnson, but I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting myself into with this one. It proved to be a very interesting talk, dealing with art in Cuba and the differences in expression between artists that live on the island and artists who are part of the diaspora in America. I found the implicit contradiction of artists to be fascinating: artists are one of the only occupations in Cuba that can sell products to foreigners, giving them more freedom and monetary power than most, but they are also some of the most heavily controlled by the government. The ultimate struggle between different artists is how they are choosing to remember and interpret the revolution. Some celebrate the government and remember Castro as a young hero, while others oppose the regime and view Castro as an aging dictator. I thought the art by those who oppose the revolution was particularly moving, especially the “Children of Peter Pan” piece.

My one complaint is that I do not know much about Cuban artists and film makers, so it seemed like the presenters were going very quickly and it was a little difficult to keep up at first. However, they did a pretty good job of explaining things, so I still enjoyed the experience.

Heat and Humor

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For the first five minutes of this week’s Rose Cafe I was very confused. This was a talk about humor and the environment, right? Why then, was the professor opening with a long, sombre story about his grandfather? Turns out that was just the beginning of a joke, which I admittedly did not catch at the time, but in thinking about it afterward it was actually a pretty good one.

Environmentalists are famous for being very serious, which makes sense because they are constantly dealing with an extremely serious topic. The fate of our planet isn’t really something that should be treated lightly, at least that’s what I used to think. Professor Sachs’ talk helped me see how using humor can help your cause, and how being able to laugh at yourself can actually help you gain support. Humor is a tool used to connect with other people, and it could be invaluable in a cause like global warming. This talk really demonstrated that serious discussions aren’t always the best way to achieve something, and that sometimes comedic relief is necessary. This cafe was very illuminating, and also very entertaining, because we got to watch lots of funny clips.

Momentous Music

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Having never been to a quartet rehearsal, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. Overall, it was a very enjoyable night with some good music and interesting conversation. My favorite string instrument is the viola, because I played it when I was younger, so I was pleased to have the opportunity to see a professional play it.

I especially enjoyed the beginning, when the musicians explained the origin of the music, which was inspired by a book which in turn was inspired by a piece of music. I really liked hearing about the background of the piece, because it made it more interesting to interpret and appreciate the story of the music. I also liked that the musicians attempted to explain some of the technical aspects of the music, and though I do not entirely understand what microtones are, I appreciate the effort.

Balancing Old and New

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This week’s Rose cafe was focused on housing conditions and availability in Ithaca. I knew, of course, that housing prices in Ithaca are unusually high, but I always just assumed it was due to excessive student demand, not a fundamental lack of housing in Ithaca. One interesting statistic that was mentioned is that the housing vacancy rate in Ithaca is less than 0.5 percent, while 5 percent is considered a healthy level. Ithaca also has 13,000 commuters daily. I never realized just how extreme the housing rate in Ithaca is. The obvious response to this is to simply build more housing complexes, but Lisa Nicholas explained that it’s a little more complicated than that.

Ithaca is trying to strike a delicate balance between historical architecture and new growth. Projects like the Commons had to incorporate old, aesthetically pleasing buildings. There is a very complicated process for proposing a new building, and a committee carefully weighs whether it will fit in with the existing neighborhood and what it will add to the area. I really liked learning that, because I think it’s great that Ithaca isn’t just opting for maximum profit and efficiency and is instead looking to cultivate culture and history. I’m glad to hear that the town is striving to maintain its roots while moving towards the future.

Corruption in Africa

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This week’s Rose Cafe was very interesting. I particularly liked that less people were there, which made it more like an actual conversation. The talk focused on government corruption in African countries and the impact that corruption has on the population. I was intrigued by this topic because it wasn’t something I had given much thought to before. Of course, I knew many countries in Africa were poor, but I never really considered the reasoning behind the poverty. In Africa many governments are corrupt on a scale that is almost incomprehensible. Entire department budgets are stolen, dictators are in power for decades, and markets are manipulated to restrict citizen’s access to goods. Professor van der Walle discussed several possible solutions, including limiting foreign aid and imposing term limits.

I thought the most interesting element of the talk was brought up by Professor Blalock, which is that a large number of Chinese people are currently immigrating to Africa. I was totally unaware of this migration trend, but it makes sense. They view Africa as an area of untapped potential, which it is. Hopefully they are helping to bring in new business and infrastructure, which will help to increase the general living standard.