Blogs

MUKHERJEE | The Art of Battling Homesickness

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By CHANDREYEE MUKHERJEE

I don’t know about you, but I have definitely felt bouts of homesickness hit me in the face as I walk from class to class listening to music or while I study in one of the many libraries on campus. As my honeymoon phase at Cornell ends and the true pressure builds up, I’ve slowly but surely begun to remember the little things I used to take for granted back home — how the sunlight lit up my pale peach bedroom or the way I lounged on the chairs on my balcony on a sunny wintry morning with a blanket wrapped around me. It’s a strange sensation to describe, you see. I love being here and soaking in the atmosphere, yet at the same time, I do miss being around my family and not having to search for an area with good reception to be able to call home. So this week, I decided to come up with a list of things to do when I find my mind wandering towards thoughts of home and I thought I’d share it with all of you.

Blogs

MARY’S MUSINGS | Why I Blamed Myself

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By MARY BURGETT

Let’s talk about blame. It sounds awful to say that I blamed myself for being sexually assaulted, but I did. No matter how often my friends and family told me it was not my fault, I couldn’t believe it. I felt that since he didn’t hit me, it wasn’t assault. I felt that since we didn’t have vaginal sex, it wasn’t assault. I felt that since I just froze and didn’t fight or flee, it wasn’t assault. I had myself convinced that it was me — that it was all my fault. In my mind it “wasn’t that bad,” so I couldn’t say it was assault.

I didn’t want to press charges because I told myself I must have been asking for something to happen. I must have done something to encourage him.

Blogs

GOLDMAN | A Case for Miranda Hobbs

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By JESSICA GOLDMAN

Photo Courtesy of HBO

For most Sex and the City fans, Miranda Hobbes is the uptight party-pooper friend who cares too much about work. She’s the least sexualized of the four, sporting some hideous outfits, and, yes, even adult braces. While Carrie is writing a creative article in her Manolo Blahniks, Samantha is on an exciting sexual adventure and Charlotte is being perfect in her breathtaking Upper East Side apartment, we often find Miranda watching soap opera reruns, working, eating takeout or yelling at her housekeeper, Magda. Finally, how can we ever forget the unforgivable moment when Miranda ate a piece of cake out of the garbage? But this superficial judgement is misguided: Miranda represents the struggle of an ambitious, modern women adapting to a transitioning work and family environment.

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THE MCEVOY MINUTE | Bye, Bye Boehner

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By EMILY MCEVOY

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is undoubtedly one of the most powerful elected officials in our government and an integral member of his political party, tasked with ensuring that policies benefitting the majority party pass into legislation while preventing any opposing legislation from reaching the House floor for a vote. It is worth analyzing, then, what John Boehner’s (R-OH) recently announced resignation means for the future of the Republican Party and what it says about the dynamics of the 114th Congress of the United States. 13 years after he first joined Congress, Boehner is set to resign on October 30th, completing his tenure as Speaker that was characterized by high levels of tension with President Obama (whom he even filed a lawsuit against), the government shutdown of 2013 and persistent attacks on the Affordable Care Act. His focus on opposing the Democratic Party helped create some of the least productive Congressional sessions in history in terms of the number of bills signed into law.Recent data has tried to counter this assertion, noting that Boehner did, in fact, schedule historically high levels of floor votes in the House (about 1,200 in the 113th Congress). However, many of these votes were on bills destined to never pass, such as those meant to defund Obamacare or Planned Parenthood.

Blogs

LIBERALLY BLONDE | Planned Parenthood

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By KAYLEIGH RUBIN

Fury derived from deception, the call to defund Planned Parenthood is the conservative reaction to a series of stock footage and created scenes. With pro-life advocates and Congressmen urging a government shutdown based on a series of lies, it is time to examine the truth. A fake biomedical research company with forged government credentials and covert cameras produced a video saga of false information. In 2013, David Daleiden invented Biomax Procurement Services, which acted as a disguise for pro-life activists to pose as buyers of fetal tissue and secretly film Planned Parenthood officials during meetings. The footage Daleiden edited and released last July has been the ammunition that ignited the attack on Planned Parenthood and on women.

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GROSKAUFMANIS | Hate Speech and the First Amendment

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By JACQUELINE GROSKAUFMANISLaw is interesting. I’ve always found it peculiar that the right to practice religion freely falls under the same amendment that defends the right to speak out against another’s religion. Despite this weird irony, I find myself defending this amendment wholeheartedly. We live, unfortunately, in an age of hate speech, or at least in an age that is hyper-aware of it. Surely verbal attack has been around as long as language itself, but in the last few years, hate speech has been an issue on radar in the United States and the world with instances of censorship and questions of how far is too far when it comes to freedom of expression.When looking at this issue, it is essential to understand what hate speech is and how much of it is protected by the law.

Blogs

STUDY BREAK | What I Love About Hawaii

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By JOYCE LEE

Eat, sleep, class, marching band practice, repeat. The first month of college seemed to fly by. To my delight, the general sense of anxiety over finding friends and engaging in compulsory small talk has begun to dwindle to a minimum. During my first couple of weeks here, I constantly found myself running into the same conversations:

“What’s your name?”

“Joyce.”

“What’s your major?”

“ILR.”

“Where are you from?”

“Hawaii.”

“Do you surf?”

Unfortunately, I don’t surf, my skin refuses to tan and I’m actually not a big fan of the beach. For a lot of reasons, I am happy with my choice to move to Ithaca.

Blogs

CHERNER | The Real Appeal of Homecoming

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By RACHEL CHERNER

I wish that Homecoming was about the game. Cornell is not a Big Ten school, so don’t be ashamed that you didn’t know we lost 19-14 to Bucknell. In fact, Homecoming might not be about sports or even about Cornell at all. It’s about apparel. Before I was accepted to Cornell, I was very superstitious about apparel, were you?

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DAVIS | Burger Flippers and What They Deserve

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By ADAM DAVIS

As the Fight For 15 movement has gained notoriety and momentum here in the U.S., it has predictably drawn some sharp criticism from right-wing circles. The wage demanded by the movement is clearly a drastic enough increase from the current $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage to shock people into forming strong opinions. One trope which has emerged from the backlash against the movement is that of the “burger flipper.” One does need to look far to see this figure make an appearance in angry opinion pieces, rambling Facebook statuses or rambling Facebook statuses featuring angry opinion pieces. We know a few things about our imaginary burger flipper: his job is unskilled, his job is easy (see also: his job is easier than that of a member of the armed forces), if he just works hard enough, he’ll find better-paying, skilled employment elsewhere and he absolutely does not, under any circumstances, deserve to be paid $15.00 an hour for flipping burgers. Now let’s pause for a second to examine just how ridiculous this rhetoric is.

Blogs

MANGA MONDAYS | Re: Naruto

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By MICHAEL MAUER

Photo Courtesy of Studio Pierrot

Before you ask, that title was a lame attempt at referencing Naruto’s 8th opening song, “Re: member,” by Flow. It’s an awesome song by an awesome band, so if you haven’t heard the song, listen now. If you have heard the song, listen anyways. It’s just that good, and you know it. Back to the point.