Slope Media Mag Spring 2019

SLOPE MAG Spring 2019

Denice A. Cassaro: Who is She? p. 26

QUIZ: Which Cornell Intro Class Are You? p. 14

Calling All Ithaca Foodies p. 34

Contributors

A Letter from

THE PRESIDENT Dear Readers,

Thank you for picking up this magazine. I mean that sincerely.

A tremendous amount of time and effort has gone into creating this semester’s issue of Slope Magazine, so it makes us incredibly happy to see our magazines being read. (To be fair, they also look undeniably pretty spread out on campus tables just waiting to be snatched up.)

This semester was my first as President of Slope Media Group.

After a year as Editor-In-Chief of Slope, I was both excited and anxious to trade in my sarcastic quips and spell-check for unchecked despotism. Upon my election, did I mimic Scar from The Lion King in my bedroom mirror as I practiced shouting “Long live the king”? Who’s to say? In the end, democracy did in fact prevail.

I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to work with such talented, committed people. Change is never easy, and there is certainly a learning curve to this job in particular.

Thankfully, our 2019 EBoard not only tolerated my zaniness, but drove this project forward, bringing exciting new ideas to the table each and every week. This magazine is a result of the hard work, enthusiasm, and creativity of our members who value Slope the way that I do. Cornell can be a stressful, fastpaced environment, while simultaneously being our treasured home away from home. We made this magazine issue with that in mind. It contains something for every student experiencing every mood in the book. We hope that you enjoy it the same way that we have thoroughly enjoyed making it.

Thank you.

Colleen Sorge

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Editors-in-Chief Aliza Schub Katie Fehrenbaker Creative Director Arleigh Parr Photography Director Ben Parker President Colleen Sorge Designers Jennifer Guo Kelly Stone Editors Khulsen Khosbayar Mary Gaffney Niko Nguyen Tatiana Whitman Writers Amaris Henderson Ana Schonander Fraya Salzman Gabi Berchtold Gaby Maurice Kendall Lieberman Khulsen Khosbayar Mary Gaffney Niko Nguyen Priya Pradhan Samantha Mulvey Sarah Bastos Syjah Harris Photographers Ally Minoli Hanna Tess Haiman Melissa Gao

OUR MISSION As Cornell’s multimedia powerhouse, Slope Media Group is a leader in Cornell-related media and entertainment, delivering a creative, student perspective on everything that matters to the Big Red community.

Slope is for students, by students.

Read and learn more at:

T Eslopemedia.org AM S LO P E

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A Letter from

THE EDITORS When trying to brainstorm ideas for this semester’s print magazine, we never thought our source of inspiration would come from our spring cleaning festivities in Slope Media’s Willard Straight office. While we often scoff at the concept that the best ideas come when least expected, in our case, it was true. Deep beneath the dust ridden boxes containing old Slope paraphernalia and video equipment, we discovered the ultimate treasure- boxes upon boxes of Slope magazines dating back since the turn of the century. We immediately dropped our brooms to take a “quick break” to flip through old issues. This break, however, turned into a day long trip back in time, admiring and gushing over the print magazines of the past. These older issues looked more like an issue from a magazine subscription, rather than a compilation of articles surrounding a specific theme, that we have seen over our time at Cornell. What better way to capture the wide-range of backgrounds, interests, and talents of our incredible writing team than to bring back the original form of Slope Media Magazine. Just as people subscribe to magazines centered around sports, politics, and fashion, our goal is for readers to feel like they subscribed to a Cornell magazine, Slope Media itself. This semester’s issue provides a combination of cultural, analytic, lighthearted, and funny pieces, as well as a Cornell personality quiz. We hope that the collection as a whole brings insight into what makes Slope Magazine unique to Cornell and its student body.

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Our vision would not have come to fruition without the hard work of our incredible teammates. To our design team, led by the one and only Arleigh, thank you for making our “theme-less” issue come to life, and for capturing the range of creativity of our writing staff. To our photography team, led by the incredibly talented Ben, we want to thank you for bringing your expertise to this issue.

We can’t wait for our reader experience to infinitely increase with the addition of amazing photography to complement our articles. Thank you to the rest of the Slope Media executive board for devoting countless hours to Slope and for helping us make print mag a reality.

Lastly, but most certainly not least, we want to give a huge shoutout to our remarkably talented writing staff. For many of you, this is your first time contributing to the magazine and we cannot wait to share your amazing contributions with our readers. And to our veteran writers, your consistent and continued dedication to writing for Slope is evident in your wonderful pieces, which we know our readers will love as always.

What makes the articles for Slope so meaningful is not simply their great content (although it is amazing, as you will soon see), but also for the opportunity that they provide to students to write freely about topics that matter to them, that they’d like to express and share with the Cornell community. This issue truly represents our goal that Slope is by students, for students. Without further ado, we present to you Slope Media Magazine Spring 2019. We hope that you will enjoy flipping through the pages just as much as we did. And who knows, maybe ten years from now, Slope Media’s Editor-in-Chiefs will stumble upon the Spring 2019 issue as their inspiration when they’re sweeping the office. But realistically, by 2029, we’ll have robots to sweep for us.

CONTENTS FUN

SCHOOL

CULTURE

LIFESTYLE

6

18

30

38

10

24

32

40

12

26

34

42

14

28

Getting to Know Cornell’s Animal Celebrities

Hot or Not

Staples of the 90s Kids

QUIZ - Which Cornell Intro Class Are You?

Entrepreneurship at Cornell

Getting Over It: Prelim Season

Denice A. Cassaro: Who is She?

Why I’m Happy I Didn’t Go Abroad

A Semester of Music In Review

The Current State of Venezuela

Calling All Ithaca Foodies

WTF Do I Do This Summer?!

The Female Voice in Morning Routines

Sent at 3 am, “u up ;)?”

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A Car Talk

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Photo Courtesy of Tiffany Chen

GETTING TO KNOW CORNELL’S ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 6 slopemedia.org | SPRING 2019

You may think you know Cornell, but if your knowledge extends to only one species you’ve missed the mark. Sure, you may not see all of them on your way to class or enjoy weekend hang-outs with them at CTB, but our beloved campus is bursting with animals big and small. Many thanks to the members of the Animal Kingdom introduced here for sharing their time with Slope. Here’s hoping Cornell will rework that motto to “Any species, any study.”

Colleen Sorge Cooper the Dog Sunny the Dairy Cow Home: Ezra’s Farm Bio: Do you find yourself getting lost in Sunny’s warm brown peepers? Charmed by her perfectly tufted ears? Sunny’s here to let you know you’re not alone; she’s something of a fan favorite. Perhaps that’s why she was so at ease throughout our interview. Sunny considers herself an educator. She spends her time teaching Cornellians and visiting students alike about cow anatomy and care. When she’s not marveling about how little some people know about cows, Sunny enjoys the simple things. You can find her enjoying a tasty forage or, better still, forcing an Animal Science student in white tennis sneakers to follow her around the barn in pursuit of the perfect photo.

Favorite Song: “Brick House” by The Commodores Favorite Quote: “It’s pasture bedtime.”

Current Musing: Does this photo make my snout look big?

Photo courtesy of Luke Puchalla

Home: Phi Gamma Delta Bio: While you may not know Cooper by name, you’ve probably heard him referred to as the favorite brother in Fiji.

It’s a title he has held since his initiation into the frat at the age of two. Cooper will have you know that he’s more than just easy on the eyes; he’s the total package. Cooper is unequivocally sweet and mellow, the perfect candidate for your next date night escort.

He’s even committed to helping you stick to your nutritional goals. All you have to do is turn away from your food and he’ll take the hint and make it “disappear.” That’s what friends are for. Right?

Favorite Song: “It Wasn’t Me” by Shaggy Favorite Quote: “Raspberries?

Good. Ladyfingers? Good. Beef?

Good!”-Joey Tribbiani Current Musing: To sleep or to eat, that is the question.

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Theo the Cat

Home: Seal and Serpent Bio: Theo stumbled into his current cushy gig as the ROTC cat after he and his brothers, Gub and Sue, were rescued by Seal and Serpent as kittens. While his brothers went on to be adopted by new families, Theo proved himself impossible to part with.

How? According to Theo, it all came down to being the most receptive to his bottles of formula and getting adorably stuck in dresser drawers.

Now, Theo spends his time exploring his house, mooching, admiring his newly slim figure (goodbye, kitten fat!), accepting the rare interview, and anxiously planning a celebration for his upcoming first birthday. Hint: you’re all invited.

Favorite Song: “Wake Me Up” by Evanescence Favorite Quote: “I’m no one’s lap dog, you can’t put me on a leash.” -John Lydon Current Musing: Do Doritos taste as wonderful as they smell?

Photo Courtesy of Caleb Carmichael 8 slopemedia.org | SPRING 2019

Photos Courtesy of the Cornell Raptor Program

Ed the Turkey Vulture Home: Cornell Raptor Program Bio: Ed was happy to pencil me into her Saturday morning schedule for a casual sitdown. By sharing her story, she feels she can do a lot of good for her oft-vilified species. Ed is no stranger to adversity. After being hit by a car in her youth, she sustained serious damage to her right side, making her non-releasable. On top of that, she’s a female named Ed… you can imagine how that has its downsides. Thankfully, Ed has come through all of this for the better. She considers herself something of a renaissance woman; in addition to educating the public as a key member of the Cornell Raptor Program’s team, she enjoys sunbathing, playing with her plethora of toys, and painting. She’s also trying to further her education by learning to untie shoes. This won’t be the last you hear from Ed; she’s anxiously awaiting the results of her lawsuit against Disney.

Have you seen the way The Lion King and The Jungle Book portray vultures?

Favorite Song: “Soy Yo” by Bomba Estereo Favorite Quote: “I’m a culture vulture, and I just want to experience it all.” -Debbie Harry Current Musing: Wait until I tell the raptors about this!

Star the Dog

Home: Cornell Guiding Eyes for the Blind Bio: You’re not the only one studying hard at Cornell! Star is in training with Guiding Eyes for the Blind, meaning one day she’ll be able to improve the life of a blind person.

While you may have seen her napping in some of your lectures in her signature blue vest, you shouldn’t let that fool you; she’s one driven pup. Outside of work, Star enjoys swimming, running in the snow, playing fetch, and spending time with her fellow GEB pups. (We all know you need a support system of friends to make it through Cornell.)

Star is particularly beloved for her cuddling abilities and her signature floppy tongue.

Favorite Song: “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina & The Waves Favorite Quote: “Everything I know, I learned from dogs.”

-Nora Roberts Current Musing: Is it beach weather yet?

Photo Courtesy of Destiny Orantes

Oliver the Pig

Home: Collegetown Bio: Since he arrived at Cornell, Oliver has amassed quite the following.

If you haven’t yet met him on campus or followed him on Instagram (@ oliverthemicropig), what exactly have you been doing? The quintessential Cornellian, Oliver enjoys frolicking in the fields at the Cornell Arboretum and snacking on watermelon beside Beebe Lake. That being said, he’d like to make it clear that if forced to pick a favorite fruit, he’ll choose bananas any day. When not meeting fans or enjoying the great outdoors, you can find Oliver crafting the perfect pig-centric puns.

Photo Courtesy of Favorite Song: “Pigs on Wings” by Pink Floyd @oliverthemicropig Favorite Quote: “I am fond of pigs.

Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” -Sir Winston Churchill Current Musing: Who decided the Cornell mascot should be a bear?

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Hot or Not What’s Hot Delivery Anyone who grew up watching cable probably remembers the popular Digiorno commercial branded by the one-liner, “It’s not delivery, it’s DiGiorno.” Unfortunately for the frozen pizza company, it seems like delivery is back in style. Since today’s technology makes nearly everything from movies to shopping just a quick click away, people have become used to instant gratification. This extends to food as well, making college students hungry for services like Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats. In Ithaca, this means Cornell students can satisfy some of their post-going out food cravings pretty easily. Unfortunately, the number of restaurants in the area that offer delivery through these apps is limited. You can use the apps to order food from places such as Calios, Jack’s Grill, Luna, and Wings Over, though.

Side Hustles College students are always in need of some extra spending money, and side hustles, the 21st century name for side jobs, perfectly meet that need. Besides bringing in some cash, they can be a perfect opportunity for people to do what they’re passionate about by finding a way to turn a hobby into a potentially lucrative business venture.

For example, those who enjoy making their own jewelry or knitting scarves can sell their creations on sites like Pinterest. Side hustles don’t necessarily require a special talent, though. If you have old clothes you don’t wear anymore, you could sell them on eBay. Or if you’re 21, have a driver’s license, and have access to a car, you can drive for services like Uber or Lyft.

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Swipe Culture “Swipe culture,” one of the trends within online dating, has become popular among college students. What has made it so widespread among the student population is the fact that it’s become a lot more than just a form of web dating. It’s a common way for people to meet each other in today’s digitized social scene. It’s an easy, fun way for college kids to connect with others right on their campus. When people who meet on apps like Tinder or Bumble decide to meet up they often choose to go out on a date, attend the same party, or hang out in a larger group. The trend of “swiping right” also plays into today’s hookup culture, as well.

iPods The year is 2010. You’re in your best friend’s basement, jamming out to “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz on your iPod Nano; life is good. But nowadays, there is no longer a huge demand for the devices that could magically fit in the palm of one’s hand.

Our phones now have wide music-playing capabilities thanks to apps like iTunes, Apple Music, and Spotify. While our cells have successfully replaced iPods in most aspects, there is one characteristic that the music players possess that phones just cannot compete with: their convenient size. iPods are so easily portable, so maybe they aren’t truly gone forever.

What’s Not

Tide Pod Challenge

Although short-lived, this trend was pretty wide-sweeping. Teens began filming themselves ingesting laundry detergent pods and posting the videos online, which then went viral. While the majority of teens were smart enough to not consume pods out of curiosity of this meme, according to Time Magazine there were 39 reports of teens intentionally eating them just within the first half of January 2018. This is an equivalent amount of reports for the same kind of detergent misuse in all of 2016. From all the trends that could come back in style, hopefully Tide Pods stay where they belong: in the laundry room.

Facebook Facebook may have been one of the first social networking sites, but it’s been losing traction among the younger generation. It still is the largest social media platform with over 2 billion monthly active users, but its popularity seems to lie largely among our parents’ generation, the people who love to post daily updates of their pets, for example. Most teens seemed to hop off of the Facebook bandwagon around the time their parents hopped on. They found refuge in Instagram and Snapchat, away from the prying eyes of their parents. But, who knows, maybe Facebook will make a comeback among the college-aged population. But, first, the company should resolve the privacy breaches that have been compromising millions of users’ personal data.

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Aliza Schub

Staples of the 90s Kids

People who claim that you can’t tell the difference between 90s kids and 2000s kids are terribly mistaken. While I was born in the later end of the decade, I still got to reap the benefits of what a 90s kid’s childhood had to offer. From infinitely better snack options, to more creative forms of exercise and activity, we had it good.

Forget iPads and Fortnite; let’s bring back the Crayola 120 crayon set, with a sharpener on the back of the box. An average playdate for a 90s kid consisted of playing hopscotch and Skip It on the driveway, racing down hallways on those small 4-wheeled butt scooters, and eating Dunkaroos when we wanted a break. Dunkaroos alone should make you wish that you were a 90s kid.

The 90s kids are the last group whose childhoods were during a simpler time. Plainly put, the less technologically advanced gadgets we had access to, the easier it was for us to entertain ourselves. I spent countless days with friends drawing that special S made out of straight lines (If you know, you know) over and over again on scrap paper. We would spend hours playing Heads Up, Seven Up just waiting for the time that someone would press our thumb down and we’d need to guess who it was. Oh, the thrill.

I would be remiss to

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not mention MASH, the one and only futuretelling game that never gets old. Will I live in a shack or a mansion? Will I have 200 kids? We always found those ridiculous numbers funny.

I would be lying if I said that a little part of me isn’t still waiting for my MASH results to come true.

I think that the 90s kids’ childhood was not only fun, but also it gave us a sense of maturity and patience. For example, instead of texting our friends, we would call each other’s house

childhood. So you can laugh all you want at our board games, hopscotch, and MASH, but those activities have helped us tremendously with life skills.

90s

While I admit that I’m biased, I think that 90s kids grew up at the perfect time, right before technology took over.

As a result, we have such a strong, solid appreciation of pure, wholesome fun, that is, without Smartphones and iPads. While we indulged in Miniclip games such as Bubble Trouble 3 and Red Beard, our screen time was so minimal compared to kids today. Our desire and readiness to sit down and enjoy a good board game reflects upon our greater world view of the little things. Yes, we love our phones and Netflix, but your chances of getting a 90s kid to come to the park and enjoy the day outside are way greater than receiving a yes from younger kids. Us 90s kids used to rule that playground, and we’d be happy to go back anytime.

If you totally related to all of my references, then you’re a true 90s kid. And if not, I sincerely apologize, because you really missed out. Like I said, Dunkaroos were my everything.

phones to talk. We learned to introduce ourselves to whoever picked up, and ask “Is Aliza home?”. This respect and communication skill still shows in 90s kids today. And, once we did receive phones, we needed to press the number 3 key four times for the letter that we wanted. If that doesn’t give you the ultimate sense of patience, then nothing will. The inability of kids today to hold a conversation without text slang, or their desire for instant gratification in response times with e-mails and texts represents the negative ramifications of a completely digital SPRING 2019 | slopemedia.org

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Kendall Lieberman and Fraya Salzman

Which Cornell Intro Class Are You? You see a classmate throw their Mac’s salad bowl in the landfill and not the recycling. What do you do? a. Your blood immediately boils. You pull him aside and explain the harm plastic causes to the ocean. Later that night, you aggressively tag him in multiple Cornell Facebook events regarding environmental sustainability. b. You contemplate saying something, but don’t think it’s that big of a deal and shrug it off. This isn’t the first time you’ve seen someone do this before. You forget about it within seconds. c. You hardly notice it. This is the least of your worries. Besides, you’ve got a big exam to study for! d. You were checking social media and didn’t even see it happened.

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You’re cramming the night before an exam and need to study. You…

a. Work in a study room with a few of your friends. b. Work in the comfort of your own dorm and call it a night after an hour or so. c. You go straight to Mann Library - either the 3rd floor or an individual study room.

You can’t be distracted and don’t like to study with others. d. Mann Library Lobby or 2nd floor - you and your group bring lots of snacks and try not to freak out that this is the first time you’ve looked at your lecture notes.

It’s the perfect day at Cornell! Time to seize the day! What does your ideal weather look like?

The Farmer’s Market is on the Ag Quad!

What’s your go-to snack?

a. The sun is shining and it is a solid 65 degrees. You basque in the breezy warmth on the Arts Quad.

a. Anything in a biodegradable container or sustainably grown. You absolutely love the tomatoes!

b. Anything you don’t have to wear your heavy winter jacket in.

b. Nothing messy so you can eat on the second floor of Mann while finishing work with friends.

c. You don’t leave your desk at the library so you’re indifferent about the weather. d. Your perfect day looks like the inside of your dorm snuggled in bed.

c. A large, caffeinated coffee so you can focus on your work and classes. You have to stay on top of your game. d. A big chocolate chip cookie. You deserve it!

Your professor is holding office hours before your prelim next week. You…

a. Don’t go. b. Stay for the whole time but don’t focus that much. You understand the material; you’re just there to get ahead and show your face. c. Go and take diligent notes. You actively ask a plethora of questions and make sure to clear up any confusion, no matter how long it takes.

You’re going out for a fancy dinner. What do you order?

a. Whatever the vegetarian/vegan option is.

You love anything with beans! b. Filet mignon. Who doesn’t love a nice steak? c. Chicken parmesan. Chocolate cake for desert. If you’re going out you’ve gotta treat yourself! d. The entire menu. You can’t make up your mind!

d. Go and stay for a bit, but not for long. You can just look at the notes and lectures on Blackboard.

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Your dream internship is...

In your free time, you’ll often be found...

a. Somewhere on the water so you can study local wildlife.

a. Hiking in the gorges or creating colorcoded study guides.

b. Somewhere in NYC, likely on Wall Street. c. Your local hospital. You love to volunteer!

b. Shopping, either online or in the commons.

d. That’s way off in the future...you aren’t quite sure what you want to do yet but aren’t worried.

How would your friends describe you?

c. Binge-watching Netflix - did someone say Grey’s Anatomy? d. Hanging out with friends in Trillium or Statler.

You just won a free trip to your dream destination. Where are you going?

a. Charismatic and outspoken b. A people-pleaser and meticulous

a. Australia! You need to see the Great Barrier Reef while you still can.

c. Hardworking and driven

b. You’re taking a tour through European cities. First stop - the Eiffel Tower!

d. Laidback and fun

c. Hawaii. All you want to do is lie on a lounge chair and relax outside. d. Your bed.

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If you put mostly...

Intro to Oceanography You’re likely a vegetarian, vegan, or are an environmental geek.

Strength: You’re confident... in your ability to memorize review sheets and regurgitating information on an exam Weakness: You’re a little lazy, given you’d rather stay in bed than go to lecture... especially if it means you can rewatch it later on Blackboard.

Intro to Micro/Macro You’re likely doing the university-wide business minor, adamant on eventually working at Goldman Sachs, or maybe you just didn’t score high enough on your AP exam for the credit to place out.

Strength: You’re (usually) on top of your game -- always completing the readings before class and finessing homework quizzes.

Weakness: Even if you do every problem given in class, you probably don’t leave the final exam thinking you passed.

Intro to Premed Chem/Bio You’ve had a stethoscope since day one, dislike Grey’s Anatomy because it “isn’t accurate enough”, and spend your nights practicing sutures.

Strengths: You’re incredibly determined and ambitious. With that being said, you can handle competitive atmosphere.

Weakness: You don’t like to share, especially your 30 page color-coded study guides.

Intro to Psych You’re always curious what other people are thinking and working with others.

Strengths: You’re a great teammate and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You know how to balance your schoolwork and having fun.

Weakness: Sometimes you get a little too laid-back and end up studying for your prelims at the last minute.

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Entrepreneurship at Cornell Khulsen Khosbayar

the purchasing time in half, allowing nonprofits to send help that much sooner to those who need it urgently.

Response Interviewee: Kais Baillargeon Founders: Keivan Shaihida’ 20, Kais Baillargeon’ 20, Nolan Gray’ 20 Year founded: 2018 summer (Not an official company yet) Mission At Response, we want to give everyone the power to respond to what they care about most.

“It’s ridiculous that charities are focusing on buying and purchasing goods when really they should be focused on what their core mission is—helping people. So, our long-term goal is to make formal purchasing of aid as easy as buying off Amazon.

We handle all the messy bits. All they have to do is send us what they need, and we come back with who’s going to give it to them” said Baillargeon, one of the co-founders.

Premise of the business: Currently, nonprofits request goods through an open tender, a very lengthy process.

Suppliers send in their bids by email, which the nonprofit reviews by hand to choose a vendor. To solve this, the team at Response has crafted a software that evaluates the bids digitally. It’s been approximated to cut 18 slopemedia.org | SPRING 2019

The story that kickstarted the project was a drought that led to a severe water shortage in Chakwal, Pakistan about a year ago. Nonprofits were to purchase water filters and send it to the affected area. But despite the urgency, the purchasing process alone took over 60 days. The Response team, appalled by the delay, were determined to find out why. They dedicated the past eight months to digging deeper. Upon interviewing over 115 procurement professionals in the charity industry, it became clear that humanitarian procurement is broken. They found out that the issue is the formal process of choosing a vendor. Collecting bids from suppliers is usually done manually, working with pen, paper and email. Nonprofits have to review the bids by hand to choose a vendor. Because of this one simple process, over a million people in Chakwal were left waiting

longer than they needed to. In the end, a piece of paper was preventing quick and timely relief for the victims.

“Charities were focused on buying and purchasing goods through this formal convoluted process when they should be focused on what they’re good at, which is getting aid to that 1.5 million people,” says Baillargeon.

It’s incredible that a project that came out of a college campus has such a far-reaching vision whose impact could possibly be felt globally.

A simple, shared passion for charity fundraising has led to a project so meaningful that would double the speed of procurement, accelerating the movement of aid, providing immediate relief to millions of people around the globe.

So how did the three masterminds behind the project meet? During an icebreaker for an Engineering orientation group. Baillargeon recalls the event saying, “Everyone stood up, gave a pretty typical answer. A lot of NYC people, a lot of Americans, and then suddenly Keivan stands up and says his name, which is instantly a red flag because my name is Kais.

And he said, ‘I’m Iranian and I’m passionate about entrepreneurship.

Co-Founders Kais Baillargeon’ 20, Nolan Gray’ 20 and Keivan Shahida’ 20 before the annual eLab pitch night in NYC in the fall.

I want to build something’. And I was like this is incredible because I stood up and said the exact same thing right after him. I’ve got a Syrian mother; Middle Eastern heritage and I love entrepreneurship.” Not long after this fateful encounter, Nolan sat next to Keivan in his calculus class and they somehow stumbled on the topic of entrepreneurship. That’s how the three co-founders came together and began working on Response.

“It’s pretty funny how things come around,” noted Baillargeon.

Soon after, the three started the customer discovery process, interviewing donors to figure out the problem points. However, they realized that the real problem wasn’t with the customers, shifting focus onto the charities themselves.

“We’d started in the fundraising department and then they tell us to go talk to the marketing guys.

That’s where the problem is. Then the marketing guys said, no, it’s done in finance. Sending us down until eventually, somehow, it kept looping back to procurement again and again and again” and that’s how we identified the real problem.” Baillargeon says that realizing that it’s not about how you raise or make the money but how they spend the money really flipped the problem on its head.

Right now, the co-founders are in the middle of co-creation, working with seven organizations to test the product. It’s scheduled to be out in the field next month, available for use in the real world.

Entrepreneurship is a big word, but

Baillargeon doesn’t think about it too much. “I think that there’s no label.

It’s just that this is the best thing in our lives right now.” He noted that the co-founders talk every single week to discuss the big questions like “Where do you want to be in three or five years?’ and “Is this still the best thing you see yourself doing?” It has always a yes for them and that’s what drives them, not the label that comes along.

Their dedication to this project was truly challenged when junior year summer came along. “It’s a very important summer—you’re not a freshman or sophomore anymore.

This is supposed to be your return offer opportunity,” says Baillargeon.

But acknowledging that they wouldn’t want to be doing anything else made it an easy decision to take the junior summer to work on Response through Cornell’s eLab accelerator program.

Through this program, Response had the opportunity to pitch in New York City to alumni. “In the end we were able to pitch in front of 250 alumni at a huge event where Martha Pollack was in attendance as well. So, it was incredibly exciting for us. It’s my first time on stage getting mic-ed up,” says Baillargeon.

In terms of taking the first big step, the most important part is knowing how much this idea speaks to you, according to Baillargeon. He also mentioned “grit,” the ability to get over the hurdles despite all the challenges. Are you willing to continue whether you get this VC funding or not and fight against the odds? This is one of the deciding factors of whether or not you’re going to make it through the jump. Because as an entrepreneur, every day is a new challenge. Baillargeon sees entrepreneurship as an incredible addition to the Cornell education and something you otherwise would only get after graduation.

“We’re young. It’s an opportunity to fail hard, fail fast,” Baillargeon says.

Kais Baillargeon’ 20, Nolan Gray’ 20 and Keivan Shahida’ 20 at AidEx in November, which they attended with eLab’s support.

On juggling both college life and Response, Baillargeon admits that “It’s

We’re young. It’s an opportunity to fail hard, fail fast.

difficult at times. I think that I split my day in two, so in the morning I’m fully focused on work. It’s all about school.

And then the evening we’d meet every single day after 4:30 for three hours.”

He also notes that there have been many instances where calls in the middle of the night were necessary to be there when the customer wants to talk. “So, it does get in the way. It’s just a case of understanding when the big things are coming up, preparing for that eventually coming up and making sure you’re on top of your stuff,” says Baillargeon. For him, the whole world turns over at 4:30, from classes, homework, and everything Cornell to Response.

Q What are you most proud of?

A The possibility that something could change for the better thanks to Response.

“For me, it’s always the stories of the customers we talked to. These people are literally superheroes. They’re working in the middle of South Sudan or war-torn areas of the world near Yemen. They’re there for a full year working day in, day out. Sometimes there’s no internet connection, disconnected from the rest of the world for multiple weeks on end.

And here we are, talking to them.

They’re telling us their story and that this is a real problem for them. This [Response] could have a real impact, this could change something for the better. And we believe that we can offer them something that makes that a reality. So, it’s about having a SPRING 2019 | slopemedia.org

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real impact.”

The co-founders have developed strong relationships with these customers because “they’re the guys who are pushing you along. When you think you’re crazy, there’s someone equally crazy out there who needs you to succeed and wants you to succeed,” Baillargeon says.

Baillargeon recalls a time quite early on where he was on a call with a customer. “He was asking us about problems that he was facing. And we’ve never heard about that before.

You know, going back and forth like this, we seemed so misinformed. Then we spoke to him last week after eight months of nonstop work of talking and keeping in touch over Skype. This time we got on the call and it was a totally different tune. It was like you guys are going for it, I believe in you.

This potentially could change how I work, and you know I got to come get a beer with you guys, I’m coming to Ithaca to visit you. it’s a total switch around so you develop a relationship and you could eventually go onto keeping that going for years and years and years.”

Q What do you love about what you do?

A “I love that moment when you walk into the eHub and everything switches over and you see the other two guys you’re working with and it’s like let’s go, mindset switch. Let’s hit response basically. That’s pretty exciting.”

Q Advice to fellow student entrepreneurs?

A 1. Go for it and do not be afraid.

“Coming to Cornell is a real opportunity where you can do whatever you want... and people love entrepreneurship.

I think that that’s the one thing we found. The Cornell alumni network, they love entrepreneurs, they’ll help them entrepreneurs. And I can think of times when it was Cornell 20 slopemedia.org | SPRING 2019

alumni who weren’t running our pitch competitions that were inviting us over to go visit, to go talk or connecting us. So just go for it.”

2. Talk to as many people as you can.

“It’s nice to hear people who are going to be using what you’re going to try and build.”

Suna Breakfast Interviewees: Christophe Gerlache and Pedro Bobrow Founders: Christophe Gerlache ’20 (AEM), Pedro Bobrow ’20 (AEM) Year founded: 2017 (in a class) Ultimate goal: First, nail down Cornell by getting the Suna app on everyone’s phones. They are hoping for a couple hundred orders per morning for next semester. After that, expanding to other universities would be the goal. They see an integration with the C-Bord (the payment processor Cornell uses) as a way to reach this goal since it will allow students to use BRB’s for purchases.

Premise of the business: Suna Breakfast wants you to have a quality breakfast in the morning!

It’s a service that delivers breakfast right to your doorstep. It’s no secret that a lot of us either just skip it or call it a day with a granola bar. All you have to do is to go on the Suna app, choose your meal and choose a 10-minute slot in which your order will arrive at your door. You can make orders until 2am the night before. Suna Breakfast really lives up to its name! ‘Suna’ is a

Portuguese slang for having it easy and convenient.

It was the most ordinary of situations that brought Gerlache and Bobrow together and planted the seed to what would become Suna Breakfast: an icebreaker for a Dyson class. One after another, students were getting up and mentioning something to the likeness of investment banking and consulting as their career goals. Gerlache had just sat down after saying that he’s interested in technology investing and entrepreneurship when it was Bobrow’s turn. His words? “I want to be an entrepreneur.” As Gerlache describes this, “It’s like jumping off a cliff and building a plane on the way down.” He remembers thinking, “maybe the sky is just crazy enough that he’s going to make it big one day.”

Who knew that he would be the one to join hands with him?

Soon afterwards, the two started having lunch regularly, discussing different business models and then in 2018, the duo did a pilot run as part of a class. It was nothing like the Suna Breakfast you know today—taking orders on Google form and collecting fees through Venmo.

“It’s just step by step,” Bobrow noted.

Suna Breakfast is a resounding example of that. Starting as a team of two, Suna Breakfast has grown to employ about 22 students and another 14 student drivers and 7 independently contracted drivers. Both co-founders mentioned how incredible it is to see a diverse group of people come together to build something bigger than themselves, even if it means waking up at 3am or 6am.

Just a year ago, Gerlache and Bobrow were in Schuyler Dorm spreading cream cheese on bagels, delivering the orders themselves. Then, they expanded their services to College Avenue. Soon enough they had students from across the campus emailing them, asking if Suna Breakfast could deliver to their dorm.

As a response to this increase in

meets together. With regards to their schedule, they noted the importance of being efficient with time. “Pedro and I have built a working relationship where we say, alright we’re going to get something done and can sit for 30 minutes and accomplish what would be done in 3 hours,” says Gerlache.

Q What are you most proud of?

A Bobrow: “We are 3x more efficient than any delivery service and if your The Suna Breakfast team.

demand, Suna Breakfast expanded to all of campus.

Despite all these accomplishments, it hasn’t been easy. Especially since the nature of the business entails being up until at least 2am for orders to come in and then immediately organizing the next day. That’s usually done around 3am. But then they have to be up at 6am again to start with the orders.

They both acknowledged that there were definitely times where they felt as if maintaining the business was too hard. But each time around, they convinced each other that it was worth continuing. Gerlache recalls times where they only had about 15 orders and they were getting only 3 hours of sleep a night. They had no idea if it was a viable business model, but they still continued with it.

It’s also interesting to note that Suna Breakfast does not recruit—they wait for people to reach out to them.

Bobrow explained that everyone at Cornell has accomplished things in their lives to be here. So, everyone is skilled enough to work for a startup.

The deciding factor for them is the passion for entrepreneurship. They need to be intrinsically motivated because Suna cannot provide them with extra credits or a salary. Are you willing to work above and beyond for something that won’t provide you with a check at the end of the day for this shared vision? “And that’s the type of people we’d like; they have fire in their eyes,” said Bobrow. These things

are hard to come through a resume screening or an interview, hence the non-recruiting rule at Suna Breakfast.

Reflecting back on their year of growth, Bobrow noted “We went from being very operational intensive, being involved with every single part of the business and making sure it works to just being able to manage and make certain decisions.” Adding on, Gerlache mentions how rewarding this process has been. He said, “Now we don’t have to worry about the food anymore because Cornell Dining does that. We don’t have to worry about delivering it because we’ve hired drivers to do that and we don’t have to worry about manually mapping out the routes that are most efficient because we’ve built an algorithm that does that.”

But at the end of the day, they are college students. Both take 18-20 credits each semester, are involved in clubs on campus, and participate in sports. Bobrow was on the varsity football team and Gerlache on the soccer team when they first started Suna Breakfast. “If you want to do something, if it’s important to you, everyone has more time than they think. You can make time for what you’re passionate about,” said Gerlache on how he balances both college and a business.

The different teams meet once a week for two hours, with another day dedicated for those who need to get work done. On Sunday, everyone

order is one minute late it’s free. if it’s late it’s free we can guarantee it’s going to be on time.”

Gerlache: “If I was talking to an investor, I tell them that we’re more efficient than GrubHub and that we have almost $16,000 in revenue. I’m talking to a customer, it’s that the food is actually really good and if it’s a minute late, it’s free. If I’m talking to my parents, it’s ‘I’m learning so much and that we just partnered with Cornell Dining’..And if I’m talking to my girlfriend, it’s like I’m really busy.”

Q What do you love about what you do?

A Gerlache: “I don’t think of it as a job. It’s not a job. It’s like we’re learning about running a company.

For the most part it’s fun when you get motivated students together and you’re spit balling strategy. From a learning perspective, we’ve had hour-long meetings with lawyers and accountants, people helping with finances and the back side. And then with our lead developers working on this algorithm and then sitting down with our product designers and thinking about the brand. Those are all the things we didn’t know anything about, and you wouldn’t have learned if we just took Dyson classes, but we’ve had an opportunity to see how lawyers think about solving a problem and how software engineers think about solving a problem.”

Bobrow: “I have two things I love. One of them is sitting down in a room and SPRING 2019 | slopemedia.org

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then getting the whiteboard and just thinking about ideas and everything.

The second is when you look at people that I work with and I see them working really hard on Suna. It’s a vision that we had and now, someone else has that vision. It’s other people like you pulling all nighters to get something done because they now believe in something.”

Q Advice to fellow student entrepreneurs?

A 1. Just do it.

Both co-founders agreed that there’s a little opportunity cost to working on a start-up in college because you’re not giving up a family or a full-time job; Maybe a party here and there or taking an extra class but what you get out of it is so worth it. “If we never took the first step, we would have never known that we could have gotten to where we are now. Each additional step opens more doors says Gerlache.

2. Build a product that’s a need to have versus nice to have.

Upon doing lots of customer discovery, in which you interview potential customers before launching their business, the co-founders realized the importance of confirming the existing problem that you wish to solve with your business.

Ezra Box Interviewee: Yi Hsin Wei (COO and product manager) Founders: Anvita Khosla’ 19 (AEM), Yi Hsin Wei’ 21 (History) 22 slopemedia.org | SPRING 2019

COO Yi-Hsin Wei’ 21 during a pitch at Half Baked last semester.

Year founded: 2018 Mission: To become the go-to storage solution and simplify the storage experience for students at Cornell.

Premise of business: At the end of the academic year, students are faced with a difficult question: Where do I store all this stuff? Ezra Box is here to help you with that. It’s a peer-topeer storage platform that connects Cornellians who need the space with community members who have space. It’s a win-win deal for both parties involved. Those who were paying rent for the entire year will get some of their money back during the summer by letting Cornellians use their apartment space as storage. The students in return get safe and cheap storage.

The idea behind Ezra Box was born out of the International Students Union (ISU) at Cornell. It was an initiative from the advocacy group, originally founded in 2016. But over time, it has evolved into its own entity. It went through the Cornell accelerator program (eLab) last summer to become an independent student-led startup.

Reflecting back into their journey thus far, Wei pointed to financing as the biggest challenge they’ve faced.

“Since it’s a student-led startup, funding can often be scarce and a recurring issue. There have been times when we faced difficulties in compensation to a freelance employee,” he said. They solved the problem by finding alternative sources of funding to compensate their employees fairly.

Right now, they are preparing for the ‘storage season’ as the semester winds down. Ezra Box has been working on revamping their website and it’s almost ready! Expect some amazing designs, completely new features, and a very user-friendly interface. On top of that, they’ve been working hard on developing business strategies, taking the necessary steps to ensure a successful execution of marketing and business plans.

With the storage season on the horizon, it’s no wonder that employees have been busy! Wei says that his average week is packed with meetings and appointments for Ezra Box. There are about 3 team meetings per week and 2-3 smaller meetings with the rest of

the core team to discuss the bigger picture, make decisions, and ensure everything is running smoothly.

Being an entrepreneur in college is definitely a challenge. But a rewarding one, adds Wei. He says that the tremendous self-growth through he experienced from running Ezra Box is usually hard to gain from just extracurriculars in college. “Managing a product with real life implications and real customers and money, there’s constant pressure to deliver and ensure that every decision you make is the right one, ” says Wei. For Ezra Box, the right work culture is crucial. It’s been a core central value since the very beginning. The founders took it upon themselves to incorporate the startup culture into the work environment. Everyone at Ezra Box are friends first, colleagues second. As a result, weekly work sessions and meetings are always light-hearted and casual. “We want Ezra Box to be something our team members feel passionate about as well as offering a learning experience so that members can build upon their skills and networks,” says Wei. He also mentioned a key philosophy that the core team shares. It is to constantly ask themselves, “Would I work for myself?” and “Would I work at Ezra Box?”. These questions allow for the members to reflect on the work culture that they’re fostering and maintain the casual and light work environment at Ezra Box.

Being a startup entails a fairly flat leadership structure. This means that each member is a crucial part of the team. Each one of their contributions matters. “Our members take a lot of ownership of their work and have the agency to decide the paths they want to take Ezra Box. We want to foster leadership skills so that when the current leaders graduate, there’s another wave of eager students capable of taking over and leading Ezra Box to new heights,” says Wei.

Q What is your favorite part of what you do?

A “Constantly learning new things at Ezra Box. As a Humanities major with no business or tech background, I lacked the basic understanding of anything related to those subjects.

However, through Ezra Box I’ve been fortunate to learn how to run a business, how to manage teams, how to deal with customers etc.

Being a part of Ezra Box has provided me with so many opportunities to explore new fields. For example, we had to do a design audit last semester, and I had no idea what an audit even was! However, I spent over 5 hours the day before the meeting just reading design audits and random case studies in order to prepare for the upcoming meeting. Through all the audits, code reviews, sprints and meetings, I’ve been able to learn a wide variety of skills and information

that have shaped my professional interests and help me find a direction in life.”

Q What do you love about what you do?

A “The impact that we were able to have last year on the Cornell community. During last year’s cycle, we had over 600 registered users on our platform, with roughly 150 paid transactions and saving our customers an estimated $12,000.

Ezra Box was founded on the basis of providing an affordable solution to summer storage, and we are extremely proud to offer that service to students at Cornell.”

Q Advice to fellow student entrepreneurs?

A 1. Create a product around what you’re passionate about.

“Carefully think about what problem your business is solving. Is it related to an industry or idea that you’re genuinely interested in? Is it affecting communities that you strongly identify with? Ask yourself these questions because starting a business can be very hard. There’ll be times when you just want to quit everything, therefore you must build a business/product that you’re truly passionate about and believe in,” says Wei. 2. Building the right team is imperative to your success.

“When looking for people to join your business, you want to ensure that you’re finding the right people.

This means individuals who are compatible to your personality and you can be friends with, individuals who are committed to the job and your company’s mission, and people who are self-starters and can help achieve success in the long-term for the business.”

Anvita Khosla’ 19, Rishabh Sarup’ 22, Andrei Kozyrev’ 20 and Amanda Chen’ 19 during a team meeting.

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Getting Over It: Prelim Season Gabi Berchtold As the school year comes to a close, a sense of heightened anxiety falls over the campus. Students stress about their grades, their upcoming finals, and their summer plans. The infamous “Prelim Season,” however, continues to dominate conversation around the campus. Any given Cornell student has surely been preoccupied by this conversation topic since January. While it is reasonable to stress about exams, I personally think that we all need to try to let it go. Instead of focusing on our studies, we fixate on the prelims, increase stress for everybody involved, and this tone can negatively affect

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our academic performance.

According to The American Institute of Stress, stress can affect both our mental and physical health, which undoubtedly detracts from our overall educational experience. While it is important to discuss our feelings instead of bottling them up inside, constantly obsessing is not healthy, or enjoyable for those around us.

Within this stress and prelim crisis, people across campus have been campaigning for better access to mental health resources. While this effort is completely necessary and significant, it is also important for us to

take on the responsibility of reducing the mental stress which we place on ourselves and others. Competitiveness often plays a large part in the anxiety that we face during the school year. The “Prelim Season” conversation only enhances competition’s presence in our lives. We need to recognize that everyone has a different schedule, workload, and most importantly, each student manages work and stress levels in their own manner.

Therefore, we should be

Competitiveness often plays a large part in the anxiety that we face during the school year.”

more mindful of the way that we approach the “Prelim Season” discussion. The way that it is now, participation in this dreaded conversation is creating a mentally draining campus environment. I have personally witnessed my fair share of conversations in which friends try to out-do one another with who has the heaviest workloads. In order to help ourselves, our friends, and those around us deal with Cornell’s academic environment, we should try not to get wrapped up in the hype of “Prelim Season”. Next time a friend complains about an upcoming prelim, sympathize with them, but then move onto a more pleasant topic.

focus on the positives and take advantage of the great opportunities that we have on campus. The spring weather and flowers are blooming, so go take a walk around Beebe Lake with a friend and talk about your hopes and dreams.

Watch a movie in your favorite pajamas or snuggle up with hot chocolate and read a good book. Take care of yourself, in whatever form that may be. And as far as “Prelim Season” – let’s move on from the conversation and all of the negative ramifications that come along with dwelling on it.

Why focus on the negatives, like work and the gloomy weather, as so many of us have been doing for the past few months? It’s time to

SPRING 2019 | slopemedia.org

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Denice A. Cassaro: Who is She? Katie Fehrenbaker

Through my four semesters at Cornell, I have received almost two hundred emails from Denice A. Cassaro. Many of us, myself included, tend to just know Denice by her Community Connection moniker. We know her as the Comic Sans lover, the most colorful typist, and someone you can always count on for some weekly ~inspo~. My personal favorite Community Connection email quote is from October 11th, 2017, “Be yourself; everyone else 26 slopemedia.org | SPRING 2019

is already taken.” Or maybe this one from August 25th, 2017, “Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know s/he had some help.” It’s too hard to pick just one. They all help start my week on the right foot.

When thinking about what I wanted to include in this print article, I was skimming through my inbox when I had a groundbreaking realization- If Denice A. Cassaro is my number one email sender, why do I know nothing about her? What does the ‘A’ stand for?

I know we’ve all been curious about the woman, the myth, and the legend behind the Community Connection emails, so I decided to take a leap of

into my own hands. For anyone that’s been looking to learn more about Denice, the moment you’ve all been waiting for has arrived.

faith and email this mysterious figure. Unfortunately, Denice was unable to meet me for an interview this week due to her jam-packed schedule. Now, I’m not one for conspiracy theories (wait, who am I kidding? I totally am), but this seems a bit suspicious, no?

While I was super disappointed that I couldn’t meet Denice in person, I really appreciated our email correspondence. There’s no greater feeling than having this campus-wide celebrity write a personal sky-blue Comic Sans email addressed to only me, as opposed to the usual list of 15,000+ students. But I was left to do some of my own research into the identity of Denice. I started by asking around to see if any of my friends had some insight. Some of the responses I received to the question, “What do you know about Denice A. Cassaro?” are the following:

“Nothing. She emails me a lot.”

“Absolutely nothing.”

“She’s the coordinator lady. Sends a lot of emails.”

“Sends emails about the ‘community.’”

Denice has been a Cornell legend since she started working here over thirty years ago. While her official title is now Program Coordinator in Campus Activities and Associate Director of Student Leadership Engagement and Campus Activities, she initially began her career as the Balch Hall Director. Back then, Balch wasn’t a home to just first year students, but to a mix of students of all grades. She then transitioned to the position of Program Director at RPCC, in which she started writing her renowned emails to inform North Campus residents about activities on campus. It’s incredible to see what started as a small email chain turn into the campus-wide staple that it is today. I doubt that when Denice began writing these emails, she imagined that they would turn into a viral Cornell phenomenon.

While writing this article helped me scratch the surface, there is still so much more that I’m dying to learn about Denice Cassaro. Namely, what the ‘A’ stands for. My top guesses are Awesome, Amazing, or Alegendaryemailwriter. Cornell loves you, Denice!

“No one actually knows who she is.”

“Hard to escape her colorful emails.”

“She? I always imagined her as a man for some reason.”

“I’ve never received a single one of her emails ever.” (You must not actually go to Cornell then….)

Since my friends weren’t too helpful in helping me learn more about Denice (I think they knew less than I did), I took matters SPRING 2019 | slopemedia.org

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why i’m happy i didn’t go abroad Gaby Maurice Growing up in a bilingual family, the thought of exploring other countries and their cultures has always appealed to me. It’s on my bucket list to travel to Europe, see the sights, attend real football games, and of course, go shopping. I am currently a junior, the ideal year for studying abroad, but instead, I chose to stay in Ithaca. Many of my friends went abroad - Spain, Denmark, Australia - and while I am jealous that they’re exploring such interesting countries, I am happy to stay in Ithaca for my entire college experience.

When I came to Cornell, I left a school that I attended for seven years. I was friends with everyone, and during the first few weeks here I felt alone and found it difficult to make new friends. While I appreciate Cornell for pushing me out of my comfort zone to meet new people, it is completely different going to a new country and making friends. Even if enrolled in an English-speaking program, going abroad can put you at a disadvantage when trying to travel locally. I am not yet at the stage where I feel fully confident going to a different culture and exploring.

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“...there are things that I want to make sure are consistent in my life in this country first before I go conquering others.”

the fact High School Musical was not an accurate representation of what high school would be like, and that not everyone is all in this together. Ladies, we’ve all seen The Lizzie Maguire Movie, where Lizzie goes on a class trip to Italy, falls in love with cute pop singer Pablo and becomes a pop sensation.

I’m not saying that I want to be a pop sensation, but a nice European love story certainly wouldn’t hurt me in any way. Since High School Musical was a huge letdown, I’d rather let myself mature before the stinge of European reality hits.

When I do travel abroad, I don’t want to be restricted by having to go to class. As I mentioned before, I have planned what to do on my trips to Europe in great detail. I would rather travel when I have free time to do what I want to do. I would also prefer not worrying about my GPA while exploring exotic new countries. I want to be able to wake up excited about exploring and sightseeing all day, and not be concerned about completing upcoming tests, homework assignments, group work, or presentations.

Going abroad is a truly wonderful experience and has many advantages; however, I’d always dreamt of my experiences abroad differently. If you want to take a semester in another country, go for it, but there are things that I want to make sure are consistent in my life in this country first before I go conquering others. I’d like to mature and grow as a person before going on an adventure that’s completely out of my comfort zone. That’s why I chose not to go abroad.

I’m a pretty idealistic person. I like to think that life is what television and movies present to us. I’m still recovering from SPRING 2019 | slopemedia.org

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A SEMESTER OF MUSIC IN REVIE

Solange, When I Get Home

As another semester comes to an end, we know you’ll need some music to transition into this summer. Whether it’s for your morning commute to work or a day out in the sun, Slope Media presents some notable releases from the past few months.

Some of these may be completely new to you, and if that’s the case, Slope Music highly suggests you give them a listen. Besides, summer usually comes with a large surge of album releases (some of which have been announced), so this is just to hold you over for what’s to come!

Solange goes back to where it all started, Houston, Texas, to create her fourth studio album.

Despite what you’d traditionally think when it comes to music and Houston, she continues to take an experimental sound, stretching far beyond the boundaries of traditional R&B. It’s jazzy yet futuristic, and you can hear meaning bleed through the speakers during each song. Whether grooving to “Way to the Show” or humming along to “Binz,” the whole project is sure to be a vibe.

Khalid, Free Spirit Khalid took the world by storm with his debut album in 2017, and this 2019 release is no disappointment. Free Spirit is a documentation of what follows the coming of age story in American Teen; after emerging from your teens, do you know who you are and what you want out of life? From the soft melodies paired with heart wrenching lyrics in “Intro” to the bouncy and uplifting “Better,” Khalid tells the story of the ups and downs of growing up; discussing the pain of navigating relationships and self discovery, he leaves no stone unturned.

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Billie Eilish, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? Billie Eilish’s first project dont smile at me featuring the hit “Ocean Eyes” was not quite like anything that existed in music before. Her voice was simultaneously sweet and chilling, and this project is no different. In fact, the whole album takes us into the dark with Billie through the subconscious, and her dreams (well, more like nightmares). She’s still just 17 years old, but her music carries a mature version of teen angst in comparison with dont smile at me. The production feels somewhat stripped down, despite moments of shrill bass in “xanny” or the unforgettable techno melody in the background of “my strange addiction.”

F EW

Anderson .Paak, Ventura Anderson .Paak describes Ventura as the yang to Oxnard’s yin; Oxnard is more rough with bounce, while Ventura is soulful and light. For us, soulful .Paak is his best form. The delicate guitar melodies driven by drums give way for his voice, specifically the lyrics and story behind them, to shine through. This is definitely an album to listen to while soaking in the sun on the slope in the few spring moments we’ll have the next few weeks, and it’ll definitely be my go-to for a summertime cruise.

Doja Cat, Amala (Deluxe)

HONORABLE MENTIONS Ariana Grande, thank u, next Maggie Rodgers, Heard It In A Past Life Sharon van Etten, Remind Me Tomorrow

Doja Cat’s big break came in classic millennial fashion: as a meme.

Her song “Mooo!” and its video went viral as people from around the world heard that she was, in fact, a cow. Doja’s first studio album is a true showcase of her personality and talent as an artist.

The single “Tia Tamera” showcases her lyricism, while “Juicy” is a fun tale of her favorite assets, if you know what I mean. One common thread of the album is the powerful and lively embrace of sexuality, but through a series of songs that sound very different. She performed most of the album during her recent performance at Risley, and the crowd fed off her fun and playful energy.

SONGS OF THE SEMESTER All the songs we heard around campus this semester, that we will most likely continue to hear all summer (in no particular order).

Old Town Road (Remix) LilNasX ft. Billy Ray Cyrus 7 rings Ariana Grande Thotiana Blueface Sucker Jonas Brothers Look Back At It A Boogie wit da Hoodie Act Up City Girls Happier Marshmello & Bastille Going Bad Meek Mill ft. Drake Shallow Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper S.O.S. Avicii ft. Aloe Blacc

Syjah Harris SPRING 2019 | slopemedia.org

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The Current State of Venezuela Ana Schonander On March 25th 2019, Russia has touched down in Venezuela. Two military planes loaded with troops and equipment landed near Caracas, the capital.

This comes as tensions in Venezuela are coming to a head between the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and the Popular Will Party. Russia, a long time ally of the United Socialist Party, has lent the country billions of dollars and backed its oil industry and military. Russia’s support of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Washington’s backing of Juan Guaido, the self-proclaimed interim president, puts a strain on the already precarious relationship between Russia and the U.S. So how does it affect those in the U.S.? First off, oil is a crucial link between the US and Venezuela. The US sanctions on Venezuela hurt both countries by raising US oil prices and forcing refineries to seek oil from other suppliers, while also hurting Venezuela’s biggest source of cash. To continue, considering Russia’s touchdown in Venezuela, U.S. military intervention in Venezuela may have just become more likely. U.S. intervention in Latin 32 slopemedia.org | SPRING 2019

America would provoke serious backlash and potentially prove to be catastrophic, but few other options have been put on the table.

The battle for political influence in Venezuela between the United States and Russia began with the death of former President Hugo Chávez in 2013 and Nicolás Maduro’s assumption of power. The former bus driver turned politician has led the country to the depths of despair, causing the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere. In May of 2018, coercion and vote rigging bought him another six-year term in power. However, two weeks after he was sworn in, Juan Guaidó declared himself the interim president, directly testing Maduro’s leadership.

Juan Guiadó, is recognized as Venezuela’s president by President Donald Trump and other world leaders. The thirty-five-year-old

leader of the opposition has stated that he is ready to assume the presidency until free and fair elections could be held, if the military supported him. GuiadĂł is an industrial engineer and a one-term lawmaker for the Popular Will party, which he was a founder of and describes itself as a profressive social-democratic political party. Just before appointing himself interim president, he was serving as President of the National Assembly of Venezuela as of January 5th 2019.

In summary, in the midst of the severe humanitarian crisis going on in Venezuela, there is also a power struggle for political influence. The United States hoping to sway Venezuela towards democracy while Russian continues to back their socialist leader. Though the country’s fate is uncertain, it is clear that the people of Venezuela are in desperate need of help.

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Calling All

ITHACA FOODIES 34 slopemedia.org | SPRING 2019

Priya Pradhan Ithaca is an assemblage of the astounding: it is a renowned college town, a nature-lover’s paradise, and now more than ever, it is a growing hub of foodie culture -- a gourmet crusade of sorts that searches for authenticity, diversity, and sensuality in food. From the classic Wings Over Ithaca chicken wings to a ziti slice at CTP or an all-natural vegetarian dining experience at Moosewood Restaurant, Ithaca caters to all tastes -- and wallets.

With cuisines from all over the globe -- Ethiopian, Indian, Vietnamese, Greek, Mexican, and countless more -- Ithaca’s food industry is booming now more than ever, also becoming more representative of the myriad student population.

Known for its affordability and diversity, Collegetown comes first on our foodie tour of the town we call home. From fulfilling your midnight cookie cravings with Insomnia cookies to a blurry night out sake-bombing at Plum Tree -- Collegetown is a Cornell staple. It’s a must to take a trip to Souvlaki House and gorge on their gyros -- with big portions and flavours that fill not only your stomach but your soul too! When the sun’s out, a refreshing acai bowl or green smoothie at Chatty Cathy’s goes great with a stroll around town or soaking up that much needed warmth at the tables outside CTB. Any true foodie knows that it’s worth going the distance for delicious food, so don’t hesitate to make your way to Commons and beyond. Finer dining awaits you with savory asian eats at Taste of Thai (I love their ‘pad-see-ew’), Spicy Asian (where I always take my out-of-town friends), or Saigon Kitchen (for those chilly nights when you want pho-nomenal pho).

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Mahogany Grill, in the heart of the Commons, has a menu that caters to all with classic soups and salads, vegetarian dishes, seafood, burgers and exemplary steak, pork, and chicken dishes. Red’s Place, a pub grub hotspot, is a great place for a friend’s dinner out with it’s classy burgers (the crab burger is definitely something to try) and one-of-a-kind flatbreads. If you want to explore Ithaca’s cajun cuisine, head over to Maxie’s Supper Club & Oyster Bar, but be wary of their deliciously massive portions that will leave you in a daze!

Restaurants and cozy cafes aren’t where it all ends for our little college town -- Ithaca’s vibrant Farmer’s Market is another niche food center that offers an array of delectable dishes. A weekly event that occurs down by Steamboat

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Landing, the Farmer’s Market showcases vendors that serve everything from mouthwatering crepes to plump Tibetan momos (which are amazing dumplings that I highly recommend) and classic wood-fired pizza slices. Whether you want some gardenfresh produce, oven-baked pies, or a platter of Macro Mama’s must have peanut lime noodles, this weekend market will surely check off all your boxes. You’ll leave with a full stomach, only to find yourself eagerly awaiting the weekend once again! Plus the market is a great spot for an outing with your friends and some memorable Instagram photos.

And for the times when you just want to grab something on the go, Cornell’s campus has numerous unique food trucks that will cater to your cravings. Louie’s, almost always situated next to Balch Hall, offers chicken parm and cajun fries that are to die for. Perfect after a night out or for those days when you skip out on breakfast and lunch, Louie’s is there for you. The Sushi Burrito truck, That’s How I Roll, which

you’ll find cozying up to Louie’s or lounging in Collegetown, has transformed sushi from a sitdown affair to an on-the-run indulgence. Each roll is hearty, packed with everything you’d want from traditional sushi. One of my personal favourites is their nachos - loaded with tuna, avocado, and seaweed flakes, it’s the perfect snack to share (or scarf down on your own). Last but not least, the Dos Amigos truck offers an incredible variety of tacos, quesadillas, and burritos, and their guac is absolutely incredible, you won’t be able to stop!

For those of you who’ve exhausted all the typical college-student favorites, check out ithacaisfoodies.com! They offer a Downtown Ithaca Food Tour: a narrated, guided tour that’ll take you through six one-of-a-kind restaurants that showcase the incredible variety of what this town has to offer.

While my food tour through Ithaca is coming to a close, the array of food options in Ithaca never seems to, so bon appetit as you head on your next foodie escapade!

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WTF DO I DO

THIS SUMMER?!

Mary Gaffney

E

mail after email from Cornell Career Services, CALS Career Team, and joinhandshake.com: “Summer Internship Opportunity!” *Cue eye roll, and the harsh realization that summers of relaxation and doing nothing all day every day are now over.* It’s a bitter moment, but as college students, the search for jobs and career opportunities is the new norm.

As I finish up my Freshman year, I have to say I’m a bit lost when it comes to the concept of searching for something to do over the summer. I’ve had a parttime job for about three years now, but the idea of full-time, real-life-adulting during my summer is pretty intimidating.

I can’t quite put these feelings 38 slopemedia.org | SPRING 2019

into words. Part of my insecurity stems from the competitive nature of our school. At Cornell, everyone’s always worrying about resumes, job applications, and career fairs. These are paramount in planning for our futures, but are they necessary when we are just starting our adult lives?

Seriously though. What company is going to want to hire a fresh-

outta-finals freshie who only took large intro lecture classes their first year and doesn’t really know what they’re doing? And what student wants to waste their entire summer behind a desk? Okay, that may have been a little harsh. Also, I’m pretty sure any sane person would rather be traveling or laying poolside under the sun than working a 9 to 5 job. That’s not a trick question.

We’re going to be forced into that real-life-adulting thing sooner or later, so take the time while you can to productively procrastinate!

I’m just wondering if all of the stress about trying to land a professional over our summer vacation is genuinely needed when we have the rest of our lives to work? I understand that gaining experience in particular industries early on is encouraged and sometimes even imperative, but that is not the case for everyone.

If there’s no need to stress, then don’t! Simple as that.

books as possible; finally writing that short story you’ve always planned on starting but never had enough free time to actually do; volunteering in your town; traveling with friends or family; working the same job you’ve

always had; or going out for that intensely competitive internship and absolutely killing it. Whatever you choose to do, I hope you enjoy your time instead of wasting it (i.e., don’t binge watch Game of Thrones or Friends all day).

Someday, we’re not going to have a choice. We’re going to be forced into that real-lifeadulting thing sooner or later, so take the time while you can to productively procrastinate! Live it up this summer, Cornellians, in whichever way resonates with you.

While you didn’t ask for my opinion, here it is: you don’t have to do anything professionallyrelated this summer. Regardless of what fellow students have planned or what others told you is correct, as long as you’re productive in some way, you’re fine. I doubt not having that internship will set you behind in any way. A productive summer could mean reading as many SPRING 2019 | slopemedia.org

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The Female Voice in Morning Routines Amaris Janel Henderson

Y

ou are what you eat, you stage what you see, and you post what you preach. This appears to be an ongoing message circulating YouTube communities which are targeted at female audiences specifically. Such underlying themes are far from astonishing. After all, in the game of online content, it’s all about image and influence; they go hand-inhand. Content creators digest images just as much as they produce their own, creating an endless cycle in which the supplier and consumer are uniquely one. And what is the figure of interest these images are addressing? Diet.

The ‘proper’ diet for a woman has long been established by the media. In the case of YouTube, however, the public themselves – not the fashion magazines and broadcasting corporations of the world – have become the media. That is not to say that publications such as Vogue and television shows/programs no longer play a damaging role. These outlets still hold their power, however they lack the transcending factor of 40 slopemedia.org | SPRING 2019

reliability that YouTube offers. As a young adult, it is easier to be influenced by your peers- twenty-year-olds creating lifestyle vlogs- than by other sources.

Therefore, the vlogs’ commentary tied to diet culture has a stronger bite when projected through this platform.

a content creator’s regular diet, the ever popular morning routine reveals stylized readiness regimes which typically include footage of their breakfast meals.

Thus, they reveal the presiding diet culture of millennials and its effects on younger generations.

When I say diet culture, I am not referring to quick fixes for weight loss or dietary transformations. Rather, I am alluding to common dietary practices treated as gospel and food fads, which are currently at peak rotation online. Think coffee over breakfast and avocado toast. In addition to identifying dietary trends, it is crucial to remember that all online content is susceptible to misrepresentation and is masked by an element of performance.

Thus, undocumented eating habits and portrayed eating habits do differ, and often times greatly. Nonetheless, portrayed eating habits provoke viewers to compare their own practices alongside content creators who may be of similar age to them. While it is rare to find a video devoted solely to discussing

I watched hundreds of morning routines in 2018 and was horrified to discover that many videos did not feature breakfast, or any sort of morning snack. The only thing that managed to become a mainstay in the lives of these women was their morning coffee. I found this deeply intriguing, as coffee itself functions as a dietary suppressant apart from being an energy booster. Curious to see how morning routines have evolved within the past year, I conducted another search. This time, I closely observed the breakfasts portrayed in every video. I watched fifty videos in total, half from creators who were teenagers and older, half from young girls in elementary and middle school. Fully aware of the supplier-consumer cycle of influence,

I was eager to learn how the habits of older women were shaping impressionable younger girls. Overall, seven of the fifty videos did not incorporate breakfast into their morning routines.

Moreover, only two of the routines from older women were fixated on self-proclaimed coffee addictions, which was quite an improvement from last year’s results. Coffee overload has been replaced by a smoothie craze, including regular fruit smoothies as well as smoothie bowls. Bagels and oatmeal are out, but avocado toast has remained a staple. A handful of these videos were marketed as healthy routines directly in their titles, while the majority suggested that their meals were beneficial alternatives to the foods we know and love as American breakfast foods.

One video from an older woman included bacon, which was utterly refreshing after my screen had

“...the majority suggested that their meals were beneficial alternatives to the foods we know and love as American breakfast foods.”

been inhabited by tens of smoothie bowls. Throughout all of the videos, I kept wondering if these women really enjoyed their meals. Diet after all should be fun, nutritious, and delicious. The creativity of eating meals seemed to be sucked away. I was waiting for someone to whip up some pancakes, but such a request would not be fulfilled until later.

Once I transitioned to the younger crowd of girls in the videos, I couldn’t help but feel amused by the sight of elementary schoolers conducting themselves around the kitchen in a similar fashion to their older influencers. Had children truly surpassed their appetites for sugary cereal, toaster oven solutions, and bacon and eggs? It surely appeared that way in the beginning. However, I was pleasantly surprised to later find girls munching away on Lucky Charms, Fruity Pebbles, cinnamon rolls, and lastly, waffles with powdered sugar. Despite their fun and creative meal choices, it was easy to recognize how selfaware these girls were of their diets and female image. It struck me to hear the child who ate waffles defend her breakfast choice, as she explained that while her breakfast wasn’t ‘healthy’, she still enjoyed it. In that moment, it was clear that the diet culture of millennials had trickled down to their successors.

Also, the children’s side of YouTube offered greater diversity as the faces of minorities and more outdated kitchens were depicted far more often as opposed to the morning routines from those who were teens and older. This is a notable point of interest as ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic background immensely shape the diet of an individual. Issues of access and affordability prevent underserved and/ or underrepresented communities from frequently purchasing foods that current diet cultures promote.

The female voice in morning routines is a problematic one. She often confuses eating to maintain a slender figure with a healthy lifestyle. She is overwhelmingly privileged, preparing her smoothie in gourmet kitchens and making use of stainless steel appliances. She indirectly encourages younger girls to feel self-conscious about their cravings for familiar convenience foods. And she takes her staging so seriously that the performance aspect of her videos swallows any chance for ingenuity.

This female voice is in desperate need of variety.

I’m waiting for the day that I can revisit my YouTube search and stumble upon someone who knows that sometimes eating a pop tart while heading out the door is the only way to go. Unfortunately, that will have to be a day when content creators care less about being preachers of ‘proper diets’ and more about accurate representations because let’s be real, status and food are closer than we think!

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SENT AT 3 AM, “U UP ;)?”

Sarah Bastos

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It’s 9 am, you just woke up to get ready for class, and you check your phone to see the message “u up?” sent at 3 am. You sigh with disbelief. The guy who you thought was one of the “good ones” is indeed a fuckboy: the guys we love to hate.

Before starting Cornell, I was excited at the prospect that the male population would not be the same as fuckboys from my high school Unfortunately, I was wrong. Cornellians believe in working hard and playing hard in all aspects of life, including dating. I’m not a fan of fuckboys, but I understand how they are formed; after all, they are a creature of their own environment.

Cornell’s environment can be described at best as a den of snakes, a place where the combination of competitiveness and ambition are rewarded. This constitutes the perfect breeding ground for these fuckboys. People will do anything to earn that prestigious Goldman Sachs internship while making sure their GPA is intact; however, they need an outlet to destress, aka “hookup culture.” After all, who has time for relationships? Now fuckboys, if you are reading this, and I know you know who are, don’t think I’m siding with you. I simply need to give both sides of the argument.

The fuckboy archetype has always been around. My favorite trashy 90’s romance movies like She’s All That and Cruel Intentions show the main male love interests as terrible guys with a ~heart of gold~. Even Schmidt from New Girl (who I love with all my heart) was a fuckboy until he found his Cece. That’s the thing with fuckboys: we can’t hate them completely. They never promised us a relationship, but their pseudo-kindness makes girls believe that they can be ~changed~ (I’m sorry this is so cliche but it’s true!!!). These men scratch that - boys really hit home when they say they

like us because of how “chill” we are (translation: they like us because we don’t want a relationship).

Most fuckboys are Chads*. Chads can be described as the prototype alpha male who puts his bros before anything else. They are the guys that post cringey shirtless pics on their Snap Story with captions like “I’m bored.” They are the creators of the so-called “thirst trap” and the only people who wear bro tanks. To be a Chad is to be a guy who is used to things going their way, who had a good time in high school, and who is considered a ~golden boy~. The definition of a Chad is all-inclusive: if a guy has a sense of entitlement, he is one. Chads are interesting guys. For example, I love when they compliment girls like they’re objects and then get mad when these girls don’t want to hook up.

“Bro she’s hot, she can get it.” I’m sorry Chad, why do you think every girl wants to get with you? Suddenly, she’s not hot because she’s grossed out by you.

I love fuckboys because they are unapologetically themselves and we glorify that! Seriously, who else would be able to articulate the fact that they want to date you but still want to continue hooking up with others?. These guys are low-key poetic geniuses when they say things like “Why do we need a label? Let’s keep it casual.” or “Let’s keep it lowkey.” I’m not condoning their behavior, but we have to admit that even though they screw girls over with this trash, they are a walking meme. So girls, next time a guy texts you to hangout late at night, just hold down that message and laugh at it.

You have better things to do than to allow him to waste your time. *Sorry if I offended anyone named Chad, but I was inspired by fuckboy-esque guys from rom-coms.

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Niko Nguyen

me from loving Hugo. This type of love—true, unadulterated, unconditional love—is second to none.

A CAR TALK I’m not gonna lie. This whole ~long-distance~ thing is getting pretty tough. It isn’t easy maintaining my love for something when an entire country separates the two of us. But still, the hardships of long-distance have nothing on what we have. I promise.

We’re over a year in the making, and somehow I still get butterflies. I’ll never love anything the way I love Hugo.

Hugo is my 2002 Honda Civic.

He’s supposed to be a black sedan, but after years of wear and tear, the car’s coat has more of a patchy, inky discoloration. It’s no secret that he’s getting old; any passenger can tell when they notice 44 slopemedia.org | SPRING 2019

the hand-operated window openers and the dilapidating fabric seats. Not to mention, Hugo can be a little difficult to drive. It takes one key to open and lock his doors and another key to actually start the ignition. His brakes can get a little squeaky, and he’s in desperate need of an oil change.

But again, nothing can stop

In the past year that I’ve driven Hugo, I’ve seen the beauty and character that the car’s facade doesn’t reveal. I got Hugo in the middle of my senior year, the peak of my high school career.

Because of this, being in Hugo is reminiscent of my high school freedom: driving around aimlessly with my friends, blasting Khalid and Rex Orange County, letting the wind rush through my fingers as I dangle my hand out the window. It was a time in my life when my youth felt tangible like I could hold it in my own hands. When I’m in that car, time stops. Hugo produces an atmosphere of

My car has been a space for me to express the thrills and throes of being a teenager freely.”

transience, and he offered us an escape from the impending permanence of our life decisions beyond high school. It was just us and my car.

The most intimate moments that I’ve had with my friends have taken place in Hugo.

There are few spaces where individuals can be in enclosed proximity without it being awkward. A car is one of the places.

When we sit in a car, we are forced to be physically close to the other passengers.

Yet, the orientation of the seats and the unforced atmosphere of a car often lend to a natural, organic conversation.

A special type of intimacy is produced when sitting in a car with someone else. You reveal your taste in music as you decide what to play on the aux; you drive the conversation forward as you simultaneously drive your car forward; and you become grounded in the present moment as you are physically moving through the world.

Even without other passengers, things are still special when it’s just Hugo and I. Hugo has borne witness to my highest of highs and my lowest of lows, from cheering in exaltation as I checked my Cornell portal on Ivy Day, to sobbing as I picked my friends up for one last goodbye before moving across the country. My car has been a space for me to express the thrills and throes of being a teenager freely. In a sense, it’s become my sanction—my home.

my first year as a college student is almost over! Soon enough, I’ll be enjoying the California sun, free of any real responsibility. But of all the perks that come with being back home for the summer, I’m most excited for the feeling of getting back into Hugo. Nothing compares to hopping into that driver seat, pushing my keys into the ignition, and embracing the magic that comes with driving. I can already picture myself soaking in all the youth and freedom packed in that little Honda Civic, and I’m unbelievably excited for our reunion.

Hugo exemplifies every aspect of a strong relationship: dependable, gets along with my friends, and there for me when I need support. Through driving Hugo, I’ve gotten to experience the unique intimacy that exists between driver and car. We’ve been through it all together, we’ve grown alongside one another. And despite the prospect of being separated from Hugo for the majority of these next few years, I know that what we have is real. It’s love.

Despite being separated from Hugo while at Cornell, the best part of our long-distance relationship is coming up. Reunion. The end of my freshman year marks a huge milestone for me...

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E-board Colleen Sorge President Jayne Levy VP of Operations and Finance Aliza Schub Editor-in-Chief Katie Fehrenbaker Editor-in-Chief Arleigh Parr Creative Director Ben Parker Photo Director Debbie Lee Events Marketing Director Sophia Mathews TV Director Syjah Harris Music Director Fraya Salzman VP of Content and Outreach Kendall Lieberman Social Media Marketing Director

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Slope Media 2019

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