This Rose Cafe really helped illuminate many of the ways that the Public Service Center and also Engaged at Cornell can help students make the best of the resources around them and contribute to the community. I had no idea (and also found it really surprising) that Ithaca had an even greater density of startups than San Francisco which we think is among the cities with the greatest density of start ups. That really speaks to the innovation hub that we are living in, even though it may not always seem that way on an insulated campus. There are many nonprofits in Ithaca that are committed to improving our community and contributing through social justice, and Cornell students are welcome to contribute to the cause. Engaged at Cornell can facilitate these opportunities and help students be more involved with their surrounding community. I wish I had known more about this resource as a freshman.
Author Archives: nda33
Romance, Adventure, and Untraditional Pathways
It was really interesting to learn about the romance genre as one that stems from medieval literature and focuses more on disruption of authority and pursuit of adventure and fantasy. Students shared their favorite past-time adventure books and readings, and it was interesting to notice that a lot of them experience nostalgia when thinking about them. Perhaps we all have some continuous desire for adventure, creative thinking, and fantasy that never truly leaves even when we are adults. I also really appreciated that the speaker shared her personal life experience about taking an untraditional pathway from a career in finance and then taking an opportunity to become a graduate student in Literature at Cornell. That takes a lot of willpower and dedication, but most importantly a strong commitment towards the things that you truly care about and feel that you can positively contribute to the world. In that sense it was really inspiring to hear about the journey of such an individual.
Accessibility Initiatives incorporated into sustainability efforts for our “backyard”
The first thing that I found myself thinking about during this talk was the realization about how much nature we have surrounding Cornell, and how little I have gone out to explore it so far. It’s really amazing to hear about the beautiful sustainability initiatives that our community is involved in, so that we can better appreciate our surrounding environment. What I found even more heartening was learning about the physical accessibility initiatives that are being considered as we think about reworking some of these immediately surrounding environments for our public enjoyment and exploration. I particularly loved that image that was shared of a recent effort to take a natural environment and install a bridge made with the principles of universal design so that all people will be able to access it at the same time, regardless of mobility. Applying principles of universal design is critical to ensure equal accessibility to our environment to as many people as possible. I hope to see more initiatives that consider universal design in the near future, as this does not only benefit people with disabilities but helps us make a more inclusive environment over all.
Epidemics for “obsolete” diseases still exist — current vaccines trying to keep up to speed
What struck me most about this talk was the realization that outbreaks for diseases we thought were obsolete, still occur, and that vaccines cannot always keep up with the evolution of a viruses and pathogens. For example, the was a reference to a serious outbreak of a disease at Princeton in 2014 which affected a good portion of the college campus. I think we sometimes take our “immunity” for granted, but there was so much history and hard work leading up to the public health measures that we have today. Also it was interested to learn the difference between the injected flu vaccine and the one that’s taken via a nose spray. The one via a nose spray actually has a live (attenuated?) virus while the one injected is less dangerous. I thought this was a really interesting fun fact.
Reshaping architecture, but where is the broader conversation about accessibility?
It’s great to hear about he different architecture initiatives in Ithaca but I wish there would be a greater consideration of ways to either make current places more accessible or keeping accessibility as part of the important conversations related to making new spaces. This is an essential way of facilitating the inclusion of a marginalized population and allowing them to participate more actively within the community.
Safety of Flying
This was a really interesting Rose Cafe because we got to ask all of our “pressing” questions about flight. One thing I was really curious about is if flight is actually safe, or airlines make it seem safer than it actually is. I think the major takeaway was not to fly on obscure airlines, and stick with the major airlines operating in the US. I thought it was also really interesting to hear about the work-schedule of pilots and how there are a lot of efforts to align it with their circadian clock in an effort to reduce the risk of accidents resulting from fatigue.
Chris VanDruff talks west campus maintenance
On Wednesday, Chris VanDruff came to discuss West Campus maintenance. I previously did not know that all service requests concerning lights were prioritized and labeled as same-day service. If I knew this before I wouldn’t have been so hesitant about putting in a service request. I thought the story about the circuits in Bethe house was really interesting–it seems to be a common theme that when Cornell ran out of money for building West Campus and started to cut corners, there were a lot of things overlooked. Something as small as circuits could have a big impact.
Behind-the-scenes on west
I thought it was really cool to explore ethe behind the scenes of west campus by learning about the underground tunnel system that’s mostly utilized by food service, and also seeing the War Memorial Room in Lyon hall which is a cool site especially since you need a key to get in. I would love to see the tunnels again but the pathway is hard to remember. I think this particular Rose House event, especially seeing the War Memorial Room, really made me realize what a rich history Cornell has, and I hope to explore more mystery sites before graduating!
West Campus Facilities “Looking out for us”
I think the most interesting part of this Rose House event was the realization that west campus facilities is “looking out for us” and really cares about our well-being. For example they organize training sessions for employees to help a student if they notice a problem or a crisis. I also previously did not now that you can submit a service request for almost anything and most requests would not be considered annoying (eg. asking for total paper when the bathrooms run out). I also thought it was funny that vomit was a generic thing to clean up for facilities–maybe because we are a college campus after all.
Judge Miller discusses the “pendulum” of time that we live in
My favorite part of Judge Miller’s talk in Rose Cafe was the interesting point about the “pendulum” of time that we currently live in. There have been only a handful of extremely critical times in American history where big change is imminent–and this is one of them. Our generation has a lot of power to influence the future direction of this country and direct the changing tides. I thought this was a very optimistic way to finish the Rose Cafe on Wednesday with an outlook on the potential of our generation to steer history into a better direction. I also thought Judge Miller’s observation about the two most pressing issues in our country was spot on–if we can provide equitable healthcare and education to everyone, this would significantly level the playing field for all people in this country to have access to the same opportunities.