Author Archives: sh2372

The value of science

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In last week’s table talk we discussed the March for Science that was to happen on Earth Day.  The March for Science was an event coordinated by many individuals who fear that science will not be taken seriously or given priority in the new government in power. Due to the history of denying climate change, lack of support for women’s biological rights, and a general distaste in studying clean energy, the future of science seems grim. With the new government proposing billions of dollars worth of cuts to organizations such as the NIH, NASA, USDA, and many more, it is clear that the new government does not see science as a priority. Because of this, many want to mobilize and voice their concerns. We discussed how we must be the voices that gap the everyday man to the scientists. Currently many don’t prioritize science research because they do not understand it. Scientists are unable or unwilling to explain the importance of some of their research to the general person, and due to this disconnect, people just have a lack of enthusiasm and care for research. Without care, they are less likely to support measures that increase funding or prioritize science. To spread awareness is an important goal.

During the table talk we discussed how much money the current administration is taking away from research funding, and some of the amounts were frightening. Billions of dollars were being cut from clean energy initiatives, which was not extremely surprising, but a lot was also being taking from branches such as the NIH and USDA, segments of science where the importance of these two branches has been proven.

To spread awareness and education are what we should be worried about. To spread the truths about climate change and the facts that support clean, renewable energy, we might be able to save our planet and move towards a healthier, greener world. We will need a lot of support for this to occur, and that is why education is crucial. Those of us with science backgrounds must find a way to bridge the gap between the regular population and scientists in order to spread this message.

 

 

What is real and genuine?

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This week’s table talk was with GRF Sara. We watched a video from an artist who discussed what is a fake and what and real. The video was extremely dramatic and strange to watch but made some good points for us to discuss and think about. We discussed who owns works of art, music, and other forms of intellectual property and what a copy of these materials are. For some, a copy might be seen as a form of flattery and recognition, but others see copies as a form of stealing. Another student brought up Drake and how many smaller artists feel ripped off by him. Apparently, he uses certain aspects of music from smaller artists than him, but since only a few people know these artists people generally assume that it is Drake’s original work. I wasn’t aware of this until the table talk and was a little upset by this fact. I feel like Drake should give these smaller artists the recognition they deserve, especially since Drake has already capitalized greatly off his work. I feel like as long as someone is not trying to pass off an imitation as the true form, then copies are not horrible. If someone feels inspired enough by a form of art to channel it into their own art, then the original artist is definitely doing something right. However, if someone copies another person’s art and tries to state that they came up with the original idea, then this isn’t right. They are denying the original artist the recognition they deserve. This concept of what is our and what isn’t is especially important in college. When put in tough situations, taking work that doesn’t belong to you seems like an option. We have to realize that these choices hurt the owner of the material. This table talk helped show me the importance of using original work and content.

A view of Brasil

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Last weeks rose cafe included a discussion about some of the sites and interesting facts of Brazil. House guest Andre Simores was an interesting hour where he discussed many simple facts about brazil ranging from education standards to places to visit. I personally don’t know much about Brazil. As a Bolivian woman, I go to South America quite often to visit family and friends. While I have accustomed myself with most of South America, Brazil still seems like a foreign land to me. I have never been to Brazil and the presence of Portuguese seems a daunting barrier. I have heard about the highs and lows of Brazil, from the amazing tourist opportunities such as the beaches, landmarks, and cities, but also the lows such as high rates of poverty and crime. We had also discussed the difference in education between Brazil and the United States. Simores discussed that the two countries were similar in types of higher education, and that public universities in Brazil were some of the best universities offered. But difference arose in primary and secondary school, where the public system was viewed as lacking. If families could afford it, they would try by any means to send their children to a private school. Going to a private school for primary and secondary school was one of the best ways to ensure a child would be able to attend a good university. These are very interesting disparities between the two countries Brazil is an interesting place I would definitely want to visit and hopefully will be able to at some point in time.

The Interview

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GRF Sara discussed the art of the interview and how important it is to perfect when searching for research opportunities, jobs, and internships. We started the discussion by sharing what we would need interview skills for, and the answers varied around the room. Some of us were interested in finance, while others were interested in STEM research and art jobs. Sara started off the conversation by discussing what makes someone a good interview candidate. The main points she believed that would make or break an interview were fit and personality. If one doesn’t feel like they would fit into a company’s personality then it will come out in the interview. The experience will just not feel as natural as possible. Sara also brought up the fact of staying true to yourself during the interview. If you try to put on a persona, you might get an authentic vibe from the place you would like to be hired at and your possible employer will definitely not get a sense of who you are as a person as well. We watched some videos from Seinfeld that depicted a character being himself and not putting on a persona when going into an interview.  The character instantly got the job, and it was funny to see someone being unapologetically themselves get rewarded for it. We then discussed other factors of interviews, like dress codes and confidence. To be the most confident one has to feel comfortable, and this level of comfort can stem from how one looks and feels during the interview. We finally discussed whether we should prepare questions and answers, or just go in and try to get a general feel. This question got the conversation going, as many had differing opinions on whether to prepare or not. Personally, I like to prepare responses just to calm my nerves when going in to an interview. This session was very helpful for setting the groundwork and beginning steps to get ready for an interview.

Women of Color in Feminist Spaces

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During last week’s table talk we discussed the role of women of color in mainstream feminism, a traditionally white space. Many WOC at the talk discussed what feminism means to them, when they decided they were a feminist, and how they practice feminism in their everyday lives. The talk was attended by a wide range of women from all different walks of life, so we got to hear many different experiences. Personally, I officially became a feminist in high school. I have always believed in equality amongst all genders but I had never previously had a label for this belief. After hearing of a friend who faced discrimination for being a women in an all-male workplace, I began to look up sexism in general around the United States. I became extremely shocked on this is an institutional problem that keeps women from achieving what they can and deserve due to sexism. I began to look up feminism and the history behind feminism. While I was definitely empowered by reading the struggles and accomplishments of women before me, I also felt a little disheartened. Historically feminism has been a vspace that didn’t fight for the rights of minority women. Through extreme work from women of color, trans women, and queer women, the idea of intersectional feminism began to grow and is now starting to become more and more popular.

We also discussed our opinions on certain demonstrations and movements that are occurring around us such as the women’s march in February and the women’s day that recently passed. Feminism is an extremely important topic these days in this political climate. Feminism is tricky subject since it should be intersectional as possible, but it is currently not. Trans women, women of color, disabled women, and women of all religions should all deserve to have equal rights to each other and to men. Mainstream feminism is currently a very homogenous space where it is hard to feel like you have a voice as a minority in any sense. In order to fight women in positions of power must make spaces for minority women to be able to empower all women. Feminism is for all women.

Blood in the Water

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Last week I went to a discussion that was focused on the Attica prison riot in 1971. Prior to this event I have never heard of the Attica prison riot. I never knew that there was a prison named Attica to begin with. Throughout Heather Thompson’s presentation she discussed the reasons that Attica started such as unsafe and dismal living conditions. The prisoners were being forced to share everything in tight areas, without proper space. They were given food and necessities that were horribly under the quality that a human should have, just because they were prisoners. It was incredible to hear how many people didn’t care about prisoner’s rights at this point, and how they did not care if they lived in these conditions. Due to these conditions, many prisoners began to join together and stick up to those in charge and demand better conditions. They started an uprising, with the help of the prison staff, in order to get attention for their cause. They called in news sources to show that they were simply holding a peaceful protest in order to increase the wellbeing of their life. The governor of New York was not happy with this and pretended to agree to their demands, but later sent in a large group of police and soldiers to take over the prison. These men killed both prisoners and prison workers without differentiating between the two. Later, all the deaths were blamed on the prisoners.

This talk was very upsetting but very necessary. I was extremely unaware of  prison rights and the mistreatment felt by prisoners. No one deserves to live in horrible conditions, even if these people committed a crime. A high number of individuals are sent to prison for nonviolent crimes and do not deserve to be treated subhuman. We must help make prisons more transparent so something like this never happens again. We must allocate resources toward rehabilitation in order to ensure that these men and women do not become a part of the system of release and recapture.

Local Art

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Last night there was a Rose event where the artwork of Nicholas Carbonaro was shown to the Rose community. The artwork was very unique, some pieces being black and white drawings of figures, while others being colorful shapes and lines on t-shirts. The artwork was interesting and captivating, encompassing certain social issues on beauty standards that we as a whole do not really discuss. In a series of work, Carbonaro drew abstract, surrealist depictions of people on the Subway with faces that were unsymmetrical and slightly askew. His reasoning for creating these was his realization that our difference and imperfections are what make us human. No one has a perfectly symmetrical face, even though we believe that beauty can be relative to how “normal” one looks. His past surgeries and health problems also influenced his work, as he channeled his frustration through a healthy, creative medium. Carbonaro also explained his commercial success as a stylist for some plays around New York and had images of his designs and stylings displayed on the walls.

Hearing his story about never giving up on creativity was inspiring. As someone who loves looking at and creating art, but never really having the time for it, I feel like I don’t have a consistent outlet for creativity. I definitely want to commit more of my time to the arts, such as taking another class in AAP or joining art focused clubs around campus.

His art is definitely not for everyone. It isn’t really a pretty picture, but almost a little distorted. It is definitely captivating in its own way. The work makes you think about what he might have been thinking when he was creating these pieces or how much frustration he felt for others. The intricate line work and continuous tribal designs in some of his work were very mesmerizing and beautiful to look at.

The Importance of the Personal Statement

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Last week Dr. Hill and GRF Magdala gave a discussion on the importance of the cover letter and personal statement when applying to graduate school, internships, or any job position that would require this statement. We first went around the room describing why we decided to come to the event and the importance of the personal statement in our respective fields. As a biology major who is also pre-med, I have been continuously told the importance of a personal statement when applying to medical schools. When accepting students, medical schools really care about what drives an individual and why they want to dedicate their life to becoming a doctor. While I have ideas as to what to write about, the discussion really helped solidify a more concrete plan in how to tackle this piece of writing. Dr. Hill stated that we have to be precise, discussing in detail what we have done in the past to motivate our decision to apply to the position we are after. Dr. Hill also discussed the difference in personal statements required for U.S. institutions versus U.K, institutions. While I don’t think I would be applying to any European institutions for medical school, it was interesting to see that the U.K wants plans for meet a future goal while at the institution instead of the U.S.’s desire to see what motives you as an individual. Dr. Hill also stated the importance of making connections while at Cornell. It might not seem extremely relevant at the time, but once we are gone there really isn’t going to be a way to connect to professors we didn’t really know. Professors can offer a wealth of knowledge, advice, and support in order for us to succeed.

Women Unite, A discussion on Moving Forward

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On Monday I attending the table talk: Women Unite! that discussed the marches around the world the day after the inauguration. Two of the GRF’s who were leading the discussion both attended the march in Washington D.C. and were able to give us an idea of the feel of the march and their feelings after the march. Those who attended the march described it as a great experience that helped them feel empowered and have a sense of control in our current political climate. We were all shocked by the number of people who ended up attending the marches. I knew the event was going to be big, but I never realized that millions of people across the world would join. It is amazing how people can really mobilize when we start to realize the threats we are up against.

Throughout the talk we discussed feminism in a broader scope. For me, feminism has to be intersectional to be considered feminism. If you aren’t fighting against racism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, and Islamaphobia when you are fighting for feminism, who are you fighting for? We also discussed the role of conservative women in feminism. We were very divided on this topic, as some at the table believed that liberal women should offer to include conservative women into the movement. Others, including myself, felt like they should try to join through their own means.

As a Maryland resident, I really wish I had gone to the march. I’m very interested in politics, now more than ever, and feel like the march would feel like a great space to vent out frustration and anger. We ended the discussion by slow clapping it out, which seemed like a really great way to finalize an empowering conversation with motivated people.