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Dear Uncle Ezra, I was curious, who is going to be the commencement speaker for May 2006 ceremony? Last year we got someone lame, and it was a huge disappointment to many. My parents said that they will only attend my graduation if there is an entertaining speaker at the ceremony. I need to know asap who it is b/c they are waiting to book reservations for hotel and transportation. I really them to attend.
Thank you for your quick response!
Sad and Lonely Senior :***(
Dear Sad and Lonely Senior,
The person who will speak at the May 2006 Convocation will be announced late March or early April.
The star of the May 2006 Commencement is you! The entertainment for your parents at your graduation ceremony will be seeing their child receive a degree from Cornell University after 4 years of diligent study. Let your parents know that "you" really want them to come to your graduation. That's what it is all about.
You can show them around campus, introduce them to your friends, go out for a delicious dinner, spend some time walking in one of the local parks, at one of the beautiful waterfalls, or downtown on the Commons. What more could they want!
Booking transportation might not be too hard, but getting a hotel reservation may be very difficult by now. The best solution to finding a hotel room at this late date would be to go to the Tompkins County Visitor's Bureau website http://www.visitithaca.com to see what might still be available that weekend. Another option would be to reserve rooms in the residence halls on campus. There are also many local families that spruce up their homes, vacate for the weekend and rent them out to families for graduation. You can find them listed by searching CUInfo for Graduation Housing.
Good luck talking to your parents. Tell them that your Uncle Ezra Cornell wants to see them when they get here. Uncle Ezra - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Question 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dear Uncle Ezra, I have been an avid pornsurfer for many years now. I used it as a way to pleasure myself. However I feel like I have lost my libido. I mean when I was 14-16 I would get boners all the time and now(21) I only get them when I am aroused by touch or am excited by the opposite sex(also related to them touching in a sexual way) Porn doesn't do it for me anymore. Is something wrong with me? Can it be fixed if I stop viewing porn....I mean will it go away?
Dear Reader,
It sounds like something is "right" with you now! Uncle Ezra - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Question 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ezra what would you say to a person who is looking for a job with two strikes against her mental illness and middle age gail
Dear Gail,
I would say that middle age is a great age; old enough to have had some experience in life, but young enough to use her energy and creativity.
And here's some good news on the job front. People who have mental illnesses are succeeding in professions such as psychiatrists, teachers, lawyers, retail clerks, computer programmers, CEO's of companies; just about any occupation that is out there.
Mental illnesses (bi-polar disorder, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, etc.) are disorders of the brain that can disrupt a person's thinking, feelings, and mood. Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race or socioeconomic status. More than 15 million Americans suffer from severe mental illness. Mental illnesses are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character, or a poor upbringing.
Most important, mental illness is treatable. Most people with mental illness experience relief through medications, psychotherapy, support groups and vocational programs or accommodations. Each mental illness also comes with positive attributes that enhance a person's ability to do things, for example multi-tasking or attention to detail, as well as artistic, creative, and theatrical talents.
The important thing for people with mental illnesses is to know what they need to thrive such as support, stress reduction techniques, medication, exercise, and self esteem.
A great resource is the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, NAMI. You can reach them at 1-800-950-6264 or http://www.nami.org. They can send you information and connect you with resources in your area. At Cornell, we have a wonderful student advocacy group called Cornell Minds Matter. Their mission is to abate the stigma associated with mental illness and to provide a forum for discussion, education and advocacy. Students can contact them at http://www.rso.cornell.edu/mindsmatter or mindsmatter@cornell.edu.
Good luck. I'll be thinking about you! Uncle Ezra - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Question 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dear Uncle Ezra, I might be dead in a year. The key word is Might. I'm a few years behind in a feild that requires years of training. I'm being asked to "teach", but it would be with the condition that I 1) bring myself up to speed in the area of expertise. and 2)Adapt my presentation to a very very diplomatic level.
I could do both, but find I'm not inclined. How does one motivate oneself when the good of mankind isn't doing it?
Dear Unmotivated,
There is a good chance that your lack of motivation is a sign that is telling you that it is time for a change. You sound like someone who could be very motivated if the work has meaning for you. I also hear that how you present yourself is very important to you and this position does not allow you the freedom to be yourself.
The best way to motivate yourself is to begin with the high energy and excitement generated by your dreams! What does your dream job look like? What kinds of tasks, using what kinds of skills, do you see yourself doing in your ideal life's work? And with what kind of style? In what kind of setting? What kinds of rewards would you like from your dream job? What do you need in order to be doing your life's ideal work, by way of information, or education, or things, or other people?
After you answer these questions, you can begin researching the names of careers that would use your strongest and most enjoyable skills and fields of knowledge.
If you are here at Cornell you can contact Career Services, 5-5221to explore your options. For a do-it-yourself career exploration guide, I would suggest, What Color is Your Parachute? A Practical manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers by Richard Bolles. Uncle Ezra - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Question 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hello, I am currently a law student at Cornell Law School. After being here more than a semester, I really like it, but I wonder if it's preparing me for a career that I will enjoy. The more I think about it, the more I begin to wonder whether I should not have pursued an MBA instead considering my strong interest in business and finance. I was only out a year or so before law school so I don't have the business experience of most potential MBA students. I was wondering, though, is there anyway to transfer to the MBA program? Is this really feasible. I am not sure what to do, but I want to know if the Johnson School is accommodating to a student like me.
Thanks a lot for your help! You do a great service.
Dear First-Year,
You are not alone; many students wonder if the academic path they've chosen is the right fit for them. In fact, many folks wonder if the career and life paths they've chosen are right too! There are several places you can go for information. I would make an appointment with Dean Lukingbeal in the Law School, 255-5839. She speaks with many law students who have the same concerns that you do. If you are curious about business schools, you are also encouraged to speak with Michael Corbin in the JGSM admissions office, 255-4660. Michael suggests first attending a JGSM information session to learn more about the programs. You can sign up for an info session online at http://www.johnson.cornell.edu/. If, after exploring your options, you feel that not only business school, but specifically the Johnson school is the right fit for you, then you can speak with them about your application options. Life's a journey not a destination! Uncle Ezra - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Question 6 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dear Uncle Ezra, I am a vegetarian and a big fan of the Statler (Terrace) Mexican wraps. What type of beans do they use in these wraps and how do they prepare them?
Dear Vegetarian,
If you're a wrap fan, then ask the person who makes them what they use and how they do it. Of course it's best if you don't walk into the Terrace at 12:20 and start asking questions. Stop in at the beginning or the end of the lunch shift when the restaurant is quieter. You'll learn a lot more about the right technique, and about the person making the wraps, then you will from a written recipe.
Speaking of asking people what they do, did you ever read Studs Terkel's Working? It's a fascinating book about what people do and how they feel about their jobs. It was even adapted into a Broadway musical in 1978. Working reminds us to pause and remember that past a job or a task, we're all human and we each have something to share. Uncle Ezra - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Question 7 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dear Uncle Ezra, I have friends at many other colleges across the country who also spend a great deal of time studying in their very own Olin Library! Were all of these Olins created with money from the same person? Who was he?
Thanks!
Dear Ponderer of Preponderant Olins,
From its founding in 1938 until 2005, the F. W. Olin Foundation donated more than $300 million to construct 72 buildings at 57 private colleges and universities, many of which are libraries. While most schools such as Bates, Kenyon, Johns Hopkins, Bucknell, and Vanderbilt received grants after a rigorous and objective review process, the story of Cornell's Olins is a little different.
Industrialist Franklin W. Olin graduated from Cornell in 1886 with a degree in civil engineering. (Interestingly enough, he was also the leading batter in a major baseball league that year, with a steam-curved bat he invented himself.) Franklin went on to found what later became the massive Olin Corporation, and fathered three sons, all of whom earned Cornell degrees.
Our own Olin Library is not an F. W. Olin Library like many others, but rather a John M. Olin Library made possible in part by John's ('13) donation of $3 million in 1957. Washington University also has a John M. Olin Library. And that's not the extent of the Olin family's philanthropy. In 1941 Franklin donated over $3 million for two buildings: one in Ithaca, and one at the Weill Medical College. In 1957 his son Spencer T. Olin ('21) gave $1 million for Hollister Hall.
Our Olin Library's namesake distinguished himself as a director of Olin Industries, the Department of Conservation's "Mr. Conservation of 1960," and a major contributor to the study of "bobwhite quail management, the life cycle of the Atlantic salmon, and a crippling hip disease in the Labrador dog." (Olin School of Business's website). His name appears on 24 U.S. patents, and he fathered the John M. Olin Foundation, which has handed out about $370 million over the last half century.
Uncle Ezra thanks reference librarians from Olins at Washington University, Rollins College, Drury University, Mills College, and our own Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections for help with this brief Olinography. Uncle Ezra - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Question 8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dear Uncle Ezra, Which buildings do the initials ML, MT, and WE represent?
Dear Student,
If you check the listing of university building codes, you will find that ML = Morrill Hall, MT = Malott Hall, and WE = White Hall. You can find the complete list at http://registrar.sas.cornell.edu/Sched/bldgcd.html; you can also find a list along with a campus map in the CU Academic Planner, Course and Time Roster, Course and Room Roster, and web links to the URL above from the CUInfo Courses and Exams page under the roster links. I hope you find your way to a great semester. Uncle Ezra - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Question 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dear Uncle Ezra, I was an undergrad at Cornell, then a grad student at Cornell, and now with some sadness, I've taken up residence far beyond Cayuga's waters. But one unanswered question from my time at Cornell still remains:
How do you pronounce Tjaden (as in Olive Tjaden Hall)? Is it "Jay-den"? Or "Yah-den"? Or none of the above?
Thank you for your time.
A Curious Alumna
Dear Alumna,
Olive Tjaden Hall, home of the Art Department, is pronounced with a silent T - "Jay-den." The building was actually built in 1882 as Franklin Hall to house the first U.S. school of electrical engineering. The design was intended to celebrate the sciences, with exterior finishings featuring the names and images of notable scientists and mathematicians. Weathering and ivy have obscured many of the images, but if you walk around the building you can still spot a few. In 1981 the building was renamed Olive Tjaden Hall to commemorate the alumna. According to Ostman and Littell's Cornell Then and Now, "Olive Tjaden Van Sickle '25 entered Cornell at age 15. In four years, she completed an architecture bachelor's degree that normally took five. From graduation through 1945, she and her associates designed some 400 mansions and homes in and around Garden City, Long Island, and another 1,600 churches, commercial buildings, and more in the New York City area. She was known as an architectural pioneer and the leading woman architect in the northeastern United States during that period." Uncle Ezra - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Question 10 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dear Uncle Ezra, I heard a rumor about a secret society on Cornell called Quills and Daggers. Do you know anything about the society that you can share with us?
Dear Seeker,
The senior honor society recognizing outstanding leadership and service to Cornell is called Quill and Dagger (singular). Founded more than a century ago, their purpose and activities are benign and many of their activities are secret. However, this veil of secrecy raises questions for many, particularly in this age of tabloids, the internet, and overwhelming disclosure. Even your uncle doesn't know all the details because their goings on are, after all, a mystery! A search through the Ezra Archives will yield a bit more Q & D trivia. Uncle Ezra |