Author Archives: mjl367

Legacy and Athletic Scholarships: The Board of Trustees Wants to Know Your Opinions

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On Thursday, I had the opportunity to have dinner with two Board of Trustees members and two students at the Rose House dining hall. The two Board of Trustees members that we dined with were Lee and Yoon. They are alumni of Cornell University. After introducing ourselves and our career goals, they asked us questions about our opinions on legacy and athletic scholarships. The reason was that they wanted to discuss the notorious college admissions scandal with us. The student on my left said that he has no problem with legacy being factored into the admissions process, but he said that legacy should not be the bulk of the applicant’s profile. I agree with his statement because an applicant’s GPA, test scores, extracurricular activities, personal statements, supplements, and recommendation letters should be given more weight than legacy. Legacy means an applicant’s parent or parents graduated from the university that the applicant is applying to. To be honest, I believe legacy serves the same purpose as diversity, ethnicity, and religious background. They are just background information that the college or university asks for to admit a diverse number of applicants.

As for athletic scholarships, I agree with Anthony, the student on my right, who said that if student athletes can contribute to the school by winning games and earning recognition, they deserve to attend the school with scholarships. I understand that the issue with college admissions is reserving spots for the rich and athletes because those spots could be given to low-income, first-generation students. I do think that is an issue because it may seem like the privileged people get more opportunities, while the underprivileged people get fewer opportunities. However, I believe that if an applicant shows the potential to succeed in a prestigious university based on the criteria and shares a genuine story, he or she should be admitted regardless of family income and legacy. I also believe that student athletes should be on scholarships because it is not easy to balance academics and practices. There is a policy for student athletes to maintain a certain GPA so that their scholarships do not get revoked. Thus, I enjoyed discussing these topics with the Board of Trustees members and my peers while eating dinner. 

The AREA Method and Relationships

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Cheryl Einhorn’s Rose Cafe talk was innovative and informative in that she explained her AREA Method in making decisions. I often struggle in decision making because I worry that the consequences of my decisions would make me regretful. That is why I ask my mother about my concerns and receive advice from her. One of the students at the Rose Cafe event asked Cheryl how he can convince his potential partner to ride on the same boat with him even if he loses his money from a big risk. I thought that was interesting because I would not want to risk something that would jeopardize both my partner and me. Cheryl said that it’s important to think about what the partner feels and ask if the partner is willing to make the same sacrifices. I agree with Cheryl because a relationship involves two people, and the needs of those two people should be compromised so that no person is treated unfairly. Although Cheryl did not tackle that issue using each letter of the acronym, I learned the value and practicality of the AREA Method even when making decisions about relationships.

Bhangra Dancing in the Common Room

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I had an awesome time learning how to dance to Bhangra. The two Bhangra dance team members first danced to a demo and then they taught my friend Caroline, Bobby, and me how to perform the dance. There were many dance steps that I forgot the names of. I think my favorite dance step was the jump, in which we put one arm up and the other arm horizontally out and jump high in the air. We would alternate the arm movements for each jump and do that four times. This was my favorite dance step because it was easy to execute and the jump made me feel energetic. This dance lesson was so fun because I was interested in Bhangra, and I really wanted to learn some kind of dance routine. I want to thank the two Bhangra dance team members for teaching us because they showed enthusiasm and their explanations as well as movements were clear.

What Do Interviewers Want to Hear From You

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Christa Downey explained to us that in all interviews, the interviewees need to demonstrate their fit, competencies, and interests. Although it is important to have many skills required for the job, Christa emphasized that interviewees should show their genuine interest in working for the company. By showing interest and enthusiasm to learn the duties of the job, the interviewee will leave a positive impression on the interviewers. I really liked how we worked in pairs, discussed the assigned skill including how can we develop the skill, and shared what we discussed as a group. It was interesting how most students shared that leadership, communication, and teamwork skills came from the group projects they had to do for class. One thing that opened my mind was when Christa said people often associate leadership with a title, but leadership is actually having the opportunity to be in a group and taking initiative to work on the project. I agree with her because leaders take initiative. They make sure the subordinates understand the mission and inspire them to complete the mission. Overall, I enjoyed The Art of the Interview seminar, and I am grateful that Christa gave us the interview workbooks to help us prepare for our interviews.

Beach Themed Party Gone Good

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I attended the Rose Cafe event about sexual violence with Laura Weiss as our guest speaker. Weiss shared examples of how the sexual violence prevention staff at Yale University asked the event organizers about ways to take out the sexual aspects while still maintaining the fun and entertainment. One example that I thought was resolved smoothly was the beach themed party event in which the dress code consisted of bikinis and swimsuits. Prior to the event, Weiss explained that many girls felt insecure about their bodies and went on diets. During the planning phase, the sexual violence prevention staff asked the event organizers about the dress code and how it can be improved. The event organizers wanted people to have fun, so they decided on bikinis and swimsuits without negative intentions. However, they thought about it and ultimately decided on beach costumes such as sharks and beach balls. The beach themed party ended up being a fun event because people felt comfortable in what they were wearing. I am grateful for the sexual violence prevention staff for their input and the event organizers for making the decision to change the dress code. Social events should be exciting and enjoyable, but if something uncomfortable like a revealing dress code is part of the event then people would not have a great time. I think I would dread attending the event and change my mind at the last minute to stay in my dorm if the dress code did not change.

Should You Take Antibiotics?

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The Rose Cafe event by chemical engineer Christopher Alabi was eye-opening because he talked about how it was better not to take antibiotics when a person got a cold or a virus. He explained that not many people knew that antibiotics may do more harm than good to cure a cold or virus. He recommended that we should let our bodies fight the infection if we meet the criteria for the healthy population. Otherwise, antibiotics should be reserved for the older population, very young population, and the weak population. Whenever I got sick, my mother would take me to the pediatrician and get prescribed medicine from the pharmacy. I was surprised because I thought a person would recover faster by taking medicine and resting. It made sense to me now that antibiotics might actually harm my immune system. I also learned the two types of infections: bacterial infection and viral infection. If a person had a bacterial infection and asked for an antibiotic, the physician would prescribe a broad spectrum antibiotic that wiped out all the bacteria especially the good bacteria. If a person had a viral infection, the person can get genetic testing only if the testing was offered by the hospital. Overall, I had a great time at the event and learned interesting information about antibiotics.

The Refugees Book Discussion: Sympathy and the Value of a Dollar

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I had a fantastic time at the book discussion because we got to introduce ourselves, talk about our favorite part of the book, and share personal examples as well as opinions. My favorite short story is “War Years” because the boy, who helped his mother with the family’s store, narrated the story that made us understand his mother’s hardships and his mother’s frustration towards Mrs. Hoa. The reason the mother disliked Mrs. Hoa was that Mrs. Hoa asked for donations to support anti-Communism in Vietnam, and she made her intentions clear when she told Mrs. Hoa she is not donating money. Near the end of the story, we learned that Mrs. Hoa started this anti-Communism campaign because her husband and son were missing in action during the Vietnam War. Both the mother and the boy sympathized with Mrs. Hoa as the mother gave Mrs. Hoa the money she earned from work and the boy apologized to Mrs. Hoa. This touched me because it was a reminder that the person’s outside appearance and inside appearance do not match. It also made me realize that misunderstandings arose because there was no honest communication between the mother and Mrs. Hoa. Tamar Kushnir said in the book discussion that the mother felt Mrs. Hoa’s pain, but the mother still did not want to support anti-Communism. I agree with her because the mother gave Mrs. Hoa the money not for the anti-Communism cause but as an indirect apology, knowing that Mrs. Hoa is also suffering.

This story emphasized the hardships of earning money as the boy described his mother standing all day by the cash register. The reason the mother did not support anti-Communism was that she needed to spend her money for the family and for her daughter’s tuition not for an external cause. I did not expect the mother to give the money to Mrs. Hoa, but it showed altruism as she placed another person’s suffering before her own. I think she would feel good for giving the money because she can still earn money for her family. When the mother gave her son a five dollar bill to buy something at 7-Eleven, it touched me how the boy was unable to make a decision. There were so many foods and items to choose from, but he could not make up his mind. One of the Rose Scholars said that he learned the value of a dollar just by observing his mother working. He learned that it took hard work to earn money in a setting that involved customers. Plus, the boy rarely received allowance from his parents, so he did not harbor greed for money.

Skate the Night Away

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The West Campus Ice Skating event was enjoyable and fun because of the free skates, catchy music, and the large amount of people in attendance. It took me a long time to get skates because sizes 6, 7, and 8 ran out, so I needed to wait for people who were returning theirs. After some waiting, asking, and trying on skates, I finally found a pair of skates that were my regular shoe size even though it was big on me. I had to be careful because I could sprain my ankle for wearing big skates. Luckily, I got on the rink and skated with my friend who waited for me. I did feel the looseness of the skates, but I was able to skate more comfortably after a few laps. I really enjoy skating because it challenges me to balance on the ice. It also makes me happy when I see other people helping one another out. I think ice skating is a friendly, non-competitive, and cohesive activity because people are gathered in one rink and if one person falls down, another person will help that person get up.