Blogs

CHANDLER | An App for That

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By SARAH CHANDLER

We take a lot of things for granted in everyday life, but perhaps what we most take for granted is the fact that we take things for granted. For example, it’s pretty much a universal truth that there is an awkward stage between “It’s rude not to hold the door for someone” and “It would actually be an imposition to hold the door for someone.” Navigating these social situations can be tough, but we have resigned ourselves to dealing with them because we don’t really have a choice. Well, what if we did? Here are some suggestions for iPhone apps that just might make everyday existence more bearable. Is My Chewing as Loud to Everyone Else as it is to Me?

Blogs

WELCOME TO THE ZOO | Concealed Carry on Campus

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By KATIE BARLOW and REBECCA SABER

With an open mind and two sides of the story, you’re bound to learn something new. Welcome to the zoo! This is a new blog where both the Republican and Democrat viewpoints are represented. The blog is not meant to sway you either way necessarily, just to present both sides of the story. You may not agree with the whole article, but hey, you’re likely to agree with half!

Blogs

HERMAN | She Doesn’t Want Tea

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By HEATHER HERMAN

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), intended to connect advocates nationwide and raise awareness for women and their children as victims of domestic violence. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), “1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime,” and “1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men in the United States has been raped in their lifetime.”

The statistics are appalling, but the gravity and frequency of the issue hits home when you discover the reason your friend doesn’t go out anymore or upon learning why police shut down the frat party you attended last night. College campuses are not as safe as parents would hope; women between the ages of 18-24 are most commonly abused by a partner. Those who are familiar with Cornell crime alerts can recall the e-mails describing “forcible touching.” I’ve always wondered what exactly this means… Is the university merely afraid to use the terms “sexual harassment” or “rape” because of the negative connotation associated? Are administrators worried that statistics might emerge from these crime alerts citing regular occurrence of sexual assault on campus, which would tarnish a reputation of safety and respect?

Blogs

GLOBAL IMPACT | Russia in Syria

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By PULKIT KASHYAP

A few weeks ago at a U.N. Summit, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin spoke to delegates from around the globe. His talk anchored itself heavily in the past. For example, he began his speech with a discussion of the U.N. and its founding purpose: to prevent future world wars by creating a body that allows for fair discussion between the sovereign nations of the world. He then touched upon Russia’s proud past as the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union, Putin argued, was ultimately one of the reasons why this august body even came to exist.

Blogs

POP CULTURE, POLITICS AND PERCEPTION | The American Affliction

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By SARAH PALMER

I was going to write about the crisis in Europe, but in the wake of the shooting in Oregon it seems wrong to write about anything else. Thursday morning I woke up, I went to class, I was tired as I sat through my 8:40, I went to section and dissected Virginia Woolf’s view on the impetus of violence. After, I went to lunch, laughed with my friends and spent more time complaining about my reading than actually doing it. As I was going through the motions of another day of learning, a list was being made — a list of names: Lucero Alcaraz, Quinn Glen Cooper, Kim Saltmarsh Dietz, Lucas Eibel, Jason Dale Johnson, Lawrence Levine, Sarena Dawn Moore, Treven Taylor Anspach and Rebecka Ann Carnes. People like me who were going through the motions until they were reduced by bullets and hatred to simple names on a list.

Blogs

TALK IS CHIC | Adventure is in Your Closet

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By GRETA OHAUS and ELENI TOUBANOS

ET: Greta and I really enjoy labeling our outfits with outlandish characters, scenarios or personalities. GO: For example, you’re dressed very “Brooklyn mom returning from Southeast Asia travels” today. The frayed and flared denim capris are her signature. You’ve been dressing a lot like her these days, it probably has something to do with your semester in Hong Kong. Regardless, she’s a favorite of mine.

Blogs

SHEN | The Perfect Paragraph

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By ZHAO SHEN

I’m that guy. The one who does his utmost to make his English paper’s first draft impeccable, and then makes a few tweaks and idles quietly when the final draft guidelines call for “substantial revisions.” The one who will spend as much time as necessary to browse Thesaurus.com for that word at the tip of his tongue, who will take a day-long break to mull things over but will never begin writing the next paragraph if he has any misgivings about the first. The one who is deciding not to proceed to the next paragraph of this blog until this one is perfect. It’s a problem. When I was younger, I’d write novel-length fantasy stories all the time.

Blogs

THE DAPPER MAN | Better Boots

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By JEFFREY BREUER

Winters on the hill can be notoriously tough. For new students especially, the frigid temperatures and blankets of snow can come as quite a surprise. Fortunately, with a little planning, Ithaca winters can be conquered without the headache. One of the best purchases to consider in anticipation of this year’s frigid season is a solid pair of boots. As it is with all things fashion, some boots will look “better” than others depending on the outfit.

Blogs

MOSKOWITZ | Another Year, Another Fall

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By HUNTER MOSKOWITZ

The last couple of days in Ithaca have been pretty cold. It has reached the point where shorts and flip flops have become untenable and strolling outside into the morning air no longer feels warm and comforting. Fall brings a lot of newness to the world. Cold air appears most obviously to chill our skin. Pants and heavy jackets emerge soon after to cover ourselves from those frigid attacks.

Blogs

CHOU | Fall into the Trap

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By VICKY CHOU

As a new blogger who plans to write about K-pop – if not about Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese forms of entertainment as well – I thought it would be nice to tell you guys a bit about how I got into K-pop in the first place. After all, it amazes even myself that I have been intrigued by music of a foreign language for so many years and counting. My wonderful venture into the K-pop world began in the eighth grade, prior to which I was interested mainly in anime and manga and the occasional Taiwanese dramas that aired on television. As implied, my family and I watch Asian TV series as opposed to American ones, so it was inevitable for me to be exposed to K-pop at some point in my life. But when the Hallyu Wave first struck Taiwan with Super Junior’s “Sorry Sorry” and Wonder Girls’s “Nobody,” I was hesitant about accepting a new style of music that, to me, appeared out of nowhere.