Slope Magazine Spring 2017

SLOPE MAG Spring 2017

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table of

CONTENTS

11

WOMEN TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2017

15

JOBS NOT GUARANTEED

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17

16

RECENTLY GONE GREEK

COLLEGETOWN

WE WERE FIRST

21

20

REALIZING REALITY

ANIMAL CRAZY ON CAMPUS

EMBRACING EMPATHY ON CAMPUS

FINSTAGRAMS

THE DANGERS OF DRUNKOREXIA

WHY “STUDYING ABROAD” IN ITHACA IS ITS OWN ADVENTURE

23

09

07

05

25

DISPROVING THE DIGITAL AGE AND DATING CULTURE

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COLLEGE: A JOURNEY TO KNOWING YOURSELF

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SOCIALLY INVOLVED AND POLITICALLY INFORMED

LETTER from the EDITOR

NICOLE BITON In the three semesters I’ve participated in the production of Slope Mag, one thing I’ve learned is that coming up with a cohesive theme that ties the articles together is almost impossible. Yet as we began production on this semester’s issue, one theme very clearly emerged: the impact of the socalled digital age. It seems today that technology and social media has transformed nearly all facets of our life--from dating to the political realm, the way we communicate with others to the way we consume information. The TV series Black Mirror has solely devoted itself to questions of how technology might alter life as we know it, or erode our sense of what it means to be human. Of course, this notion isn’t groundbreaking: the acknowledgement of our media- and technology-dominated society has become somewhat of an adage, often expressed with either reverence or contempt. Slope itself presents an archetype of this phenomenon, utilizing a culture predicated on virtual interaction to grow and to express ideas in different and unconventional ways.

Even still, we of course know that this “digital age” has engendered a concerning paradox: that the very technologies developed to enhance communication and bring us closer together have diminished our abilities to interact with one another and create the condition for this social distance. We speak behind illuminated screens, we affirm each other by pressing a button—in effect, we engage without ever having to truly engage at all. Where, then, does digital media fall into the equation? Is it contradictory for sites like Slope to encourage expression and provocative thought through the confines of a computer monitor or a smartphone screen?

These questions might not have an answer, and the fact that they don’t is why we keep asking them. Our generation

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is perhaps the first to navigate how to utilize technology-something very inhuman--to cultivate what makes us human.

This is, too, part of what puts Slope Media and the work we do in such a unique position. Though Slope thrives off the culture the digital age has created, at its core it motivates expression, the sharing of ideas, and even just simply entertainment. Most importantly, I think, it promotes a discourse—whether that discourse addresses the precarious position of our political system or the relentlessly long salad lines at Terrace. We need media like Slope to produce content that contributes to conversation—however trite or banal—so that we have something to say, debate, or simply just think about when we finally look up from those screens. And to participate in that process is something I am truly grateful for.

Of course, the making of this magazine would not have been possible without a truly incredible group of people. To our design team, Grace and Joey, and to our photography director, Ally—you guys are so insanely talented, and I’m so lucky for the opportunity to work with you guys. To the rest of the Slope Media executive board, thank you guys for your endless support in helping to bring this magazine to life. And most importantly to our phenomenal team of writers, thank you for your hard work, dedication, and contribution to the conversation.

So now that I’ve gotten the ~mushy~ stuff out of the way, I am thrilled to present to you the Spring 2017 print issue of Slope Media Magazine! Our articles might make you laugh, or cry, or cry from laughter. But if for nothing else, I hope what you finds in here inspires you to think, to discuss, and to engage with the world around you.

MAGAZINE STAFF EDITOR IN CHIEF Nicole Biton

CREATIVE DIRECTORS Joseph Hines Grace McBride

PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR Alessandra Piccone

PRESIDENT Jeremy Candelas

WRITERS

Priscilla Blum* Nicole Biton Natalie Brooks Jeremy Candelas Alanna Fichtel* Raegan Loheide Amanda Madenberg* Ashley Radparvar

Anna Ravenelle* Sierra Rinaldi* Sarah Saxena Colleen Sorge* Ali Spandorfer Dominique Turner *Copy Editor

PHOTOGRAPHERS Deedee Brown Sabrina Cabrera Trey Kirkpatrick Gerickson Lopez Alessandra Piccone

Steven Post Adam Riesenfeld Andie Orduna Kendall White

mission statement

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.

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WHY “STUDYING ABROAD” IN ITHACA IS ITS OWN ADVENTURE SIERRA RINALDI One of the hardest things to do in life is make choices—especially when the result of those choices can have a significant impact. When it comes down to the decision of studying abroad or staying in Ithaca for junior year spring semester, figuring out the right path is not always easy.

Last summer, when I first thought of going abroad, my mind was tempted by dreams of meeting an Italian boyfriend with an adorable accent and becoming a European pop star like Lizzie McGuire.

I would talk to my friends who had already decided on going about how much fun we would have and all the adventures we would go on. But no matter how much we dreamed and discussed, it never felt quite right. As the application deadline drew nearer, I kept sitting down to write the entrance essays on why I wanted to go—but nothing came. Going abroad just felt like what you’re supposed to do your junior year—so why didn’t I want to?

They say you should always trust your instinct, go with the choice that feels most right. Imagining the two choices, and the corresponding feelings associated with choosing one, is a good method to figuring out the right option for you.

It’s easy to get jealous seeing your best friends’ Instagrams from the other side of the world and knowing you could have gone too, especially when the pictures are of beautiful landscapes and mouthwatering food. Try to remember that you made the right choice for yourself--whether for financial, academic, or personal reasons—and you’re happy your closest friends are having such an amazing experience.

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Staying in Ithaca for another semester might seem less thrilling in comparison to international excursions, but it can also be a relief to know you have more time here on campus to meet new people, get more involved, study harder, and do all the things you said you would but never did. Spending junior year in Ithaca might be the perfect time to get those pre-med requirements done, study for your LSAT, or just save some money. More time on the Ithaca campus means also more leeway, something a lot of

Cornell students don’t have. No matter why you chose to stay in Ithaca, take this time to get to know yourself better and push yourself to go out of your comfort zone. You never know who you’ll meet or what new passions you’ll find.

Spring semester here in Ithaca has flown by, even without some of my best friends. I found myself with more time to dedicate to campus leadership positions. Most of the time, these positions are based on the calendar year, so it can be difficult for people who study abroad to pursue them. Not only can leadership roles strengthen your resume, but also you as a person. Having leadership positions helps you grow as a team player and role model. They can also provide a community on campus when so much of your social circle has shifted because of friends going abroad.

I have also had the pleasure of making friends with so many people I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to get to know. It has been so fun being able to spend time with new friends, getting to know them in a different way than their normal campus personas.

Sharing in the experience of not going abroad has bonded us in a new way. We’re all able to handle the mixed emotions that come with missing our friends across the pond, and encourage each other to try new things.

The 607 has so much to offer us, but often times our busy schedules put doing new things on the back burner. Going abroad might seem like the more adventurous option, but having an extra semester to explore Ithaca isn’t a bad thing, and can be a unique part of the Cornell experience. Not only can you go to all those hockey games you always said you wanted to go to, you can also spend time trying new restaurants, hiking trails and gorges, and even exploring the areas beyond Ithaca’s borders. “Stuck” here or here by choice, it doesn’t really matter.

What’s most important is having an open mind to new experiences and keeping a positive perspective.

New friends, new hobbies, and new adventures don’t come to us without a little work. If you’re studying “abroad” here in Ithaca, remember to say yes to new experiences—you never know what might happen.

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THE DANGERS OF DRUNKOREXIA

“Substituting food calories with the calories in alcohol is a treacherous territory” 07 • SLOPE MAG

PRISCILLA BLUM Let’s face it: for most college students, partying dominates their social scene. It has become routine for many to drink in excess before going out. By both anecdotal and empirical accounts, we know that binge drinking is dangerous, and the national conversation has fostered many new initiatives to prevent it.

One alarming outgrowth of this disturbing trend seems to receive far less attention than is warranted: “drunkorexia”. This phenomenon involves a combination of various practices before students begin their drinking. Some skip meals, exercise heavily before or after consuming alcohol, ingest diuretics or laxatives, and/or participate in self-induced vomiting postconsumption.

practice of limiting your caloric intake before drinking one time can also cause nutrient deficiencies. Drunkorexia puts those who practice it at greater risk for cognitive disorders, liver disease, diabetes, and an increased susceptibility to serious eating disorders.

The gravity of drunkorexia warrants all of our attentions. A side effect of imbibing alcohol without the necessary healthy calories is binge eating, which may occur after drinking. Starving oneself causes extreme hunger coupled with the inability to control caloric intake.

Binge eating after binge drinking is often referred to as having the “drunchies”—a sure sign your metabolism is out of sorts.

A recent study at the University of Texas found that 80% of the students surveyed had engaged in drunkorexiarelated behaviors in the past month.

Why so many, you might ask? For some, the goal is to prevent weight gain caused by alcohol’s extra calories; most others participate in these behaviors just to get a better buzz.

Cornellians who party to the point of binging should be aware that overindulging at Nasties or grabbing a slice at CTP after a night of drinking could potentially have more serious implications than just a late-night bite.

While intoxicated, your body quickly uses up your nutrients to fight to keep your systems in check, but when you deprive your body of the nutrients it needs, it then sends strong urges for you to intake as many calories as possible.

What often goes unnoticed, however, is that drunkorexia is a combination of an eating disorder and alcohol abuse, which can cause serious consequences.

Drinking on an empty stomach may get you drunk faster, but in turn reduces your self-control and impairs your decisionmaking capabilities exponentially. The

The key here is to be responsible by having a concrete plan on how to prepare yourself. Make sure to look out for warning signs in yourself and your friends, and think twice before eating less prior to a night out. Next time you’re anticipating a booze-filled weekend, think about the consequences of drunkorexia.

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FINSTA GRAMS:

INSTAGRAM’S IDENTITY CRISIS

:

NICOLE BITON In today’s media culture, the focus of communication has largely shifted from text communications to image sharing. With this reorientation has come an increased focus on the shared images themselves and, in effect, on appearances. To take or share a picture today is not to just capture a moment, but to capture an aesthetically perfect moment, with the understanding that the best photo will get the most “likes” or attention. This can best be seen in the culture that has been both engendered and reinforced by Instagram, a culture that implies that only the pictures that reflect the most perfect—albeit constructed—versions of ourselves are “Instagrammable” or worthy of being shared. With such intense focus on the superficial, one can’t help but wonder where, in this culture dominated by social media, can we be real?

Enter Finstagram, or “fake” Instagram. These pages are often secondary accounts, run concurrently with real Insta accounts, that contain funny, embarrassing, honest, and sometimes self-deprecating images and captions. Seen in some respects as backlash against Instagram’s culture of perfection, the principles of Finstagram are antithetical to those of mainstream Instagram culture itself. On Instagram, users generally post only the best pictures of themselves, their friends, or their environments; on Finstagram, often the more unflattering or random the picture subject, the better.

Instagram users aim to garner as many followers as they can for their regular accounts. For those who run Finstagrams, however, having a low follower count is usually preferred—especially if the content posted is somewhat incriminating. “Real” Instagram handles are usually as simple as the person’s name; “fake” Instagram handles can be as unbecoming or irreverent as you’d like.

TL; DR, Finstagrams offer a reprieve from the pressure to construct the virtual personas of illusory perfection that Instagram implicitly demands from its users. While regular Instagram involves intense editing and flawless makeup, a hungover selfie with smeared makeup and a caption revealing you ate an entire CTP the night before is prime Finsta content. The best part of Finstagram is that the posts don’t even have to make sense--their randomness and eccentricity are what make them all the more engaging.

Implicit in the logic of Finstagram is the suggestion that what you share there isn’t really you—or not the same

you that posts to your regular Instagram account. In this respect, then, the Finstagram becomes the college equivalent of changing your name on Facebook senior year of high school so that colleges (sup, Cornell) can’t see that your cover photo is of you double fisting on spring break in the Bahamas. It provides an alter-ego, or outlet for all the NSFW content that you might not want your boss or your mom to see, but that you know will give your friends a good laugh. And in a world where anyone—including potential employers and admissions offices—can learn way too much about you with the click of a button, the ability to maintain your privacy without compromising self-expression is something to be valued.

But herein also lies a major problem: the need for an alternative Instagram account in the first place. Aside from issues of privacy, what is it about Instagram culture that makes us want to hide our flaws, and expose only what makes us appear to be perfect? A recent New York Times piece suggested that “fake” Instagram gives Instagram users a “chance to be real.” In an interesting paradox, what this seems to suggest is that the selves presented on Finstagram are more genuine than those on “real” Instagram. But which account are we meant to identify with? Which one represents the “real” us?

I don’t mean to indict Finstagram culture or the operation of Finstagrams in the slightest. They’re expressive, entertaining, and funny AF. Importantly, their popularity represents a healthy shift away from the superficial and unrealistic beauty expectations that have become embedded in Instagram. But I do think their sheer existence exposes a very real problem with social media culture at large: that the attempts to gain validation from others—and in effect, validate our own selves—force us to compromise some sense of who we truly are.

Maybe the popularity of Finstagrams is simply a benign reflection of how our identities naturally become split between the public and private spheres. But I think it’s worth considering how the media we use to communicate and to express ourselves may be having the opposite effect. No matter your stance, we can all agree that Instagram isn’t going anywhere.

If Finstagram allows us to subvert our superficial tendencies and reminds us how to be ourselves in an increasingly restrictive social world, then maybe we need it more than we think.

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WOMEN TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2017 RAEGAN LOHEIDE

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IN TODAY’S MODERN SOCIETY, women are becoming an ever-more present part of the public sphere.

News coverage of the percentage of female CEOs at fortune 500 companies and comparisons of gender pay gaps has become commonplace, especially in the general gender discourse. As a result, we’ve come to see female success and leadership as naturalized--something that, as students and young professionals, it has an impact on how we interact with the world around us. However, these numbers are overshadowed by the constant silencing of people’s voices and opinions, and neglecting individual’s rights and perpetuating civil issues. In spite of these barriers, the silence has made room to make our voices louder. Through leading and shaping their respective fields in politics, advocacy, fashion, technology, and art, prominent women have been actively transforming the future. Does it mean the glass ceiling is broken? No, but it does mean that recognition and progress are happening. With the whirlwind of changes occurring, these women are working to change the face of prominent issues in the world and are people to watch out for in the upcoming year as motivators to make a difference in our dynamic world.

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KAMALA HARRIS Formerly California’s Attorney General, Harris is now headed to Capitol Hill as a junior senator. As Attorney General she was given a platform to fight for issues she cared about, specifically as she’s emerged as one of the leading attorney generals that actively support the Black Lives Matter movement. She has also played a big role in the fight for marriage equality by refusing to enforce California’s “Proposition 8” which banned same sex marriage in the state, and continued her fight up until the 2015 supreme court decision. Starting her senate term off strong as the first Indian-American elected to the senate, she encourages all of us to keep fighting and is an inspiration. Harris’ drive and commitment to constituencies truly boasts power to the people.

EMMA WATSON From her position as UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador to her #HeForShe campaign, Emma Watson has been a champion for women’s rights. The HeForShe campaign aims to create a bold and visible force for gender equality through solidarity and mobilization. Watsofeminism and gender equality are contingent on women having a choice, no matter the issue. Her strong voice in the fight for gender equality is a reminder of the big intersectional issue that it is, and that we should continue to educate ourselves and actively participate in changing the world around us.

ANNIESA HASIBUAN This past fall she made history when she unveiled the world’s first all-hijab collection during New York Fashion Week. Hasibuan said that the show aimed to communicate that hijab-wearing women “can be as stylish and glamorous as other women can be.” In her February 2017 collection, the Indonesian fashion designer is on to making political statements and exclusively casted immigrant models for her show. Hasibuan has already been able to transform parts of the fashion industry and actively advocates for equal opportunities and inclusion.

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KATRINE BOSLEY As one of the high profile CEOs in New England, Bosley has now taken on a new feat at Editas Medicine. The biotech startup uses gene editing CRISPR technology, and is hoping to start clinical trials this year. If all goes as planned, Bosley’s company would be the first to accomplish CRISPR gene modification in humans. Katrine expresses how the science behind it captures her imagination, and taking on such a formidable task and leading her company to stunning breakthroughs should certainly push our imaginations and scopes as well.

PETRA COLLINS She’s a multimedia artist, actress, curator, and model with over a 300K instagram fan base. Collins capitalizes on the “female gaze” in her work and is the queen of a hyper-feminine aesthetic. Her work has been able to stir up social norms and advocate for acceptance, as an immigrant and stirring up controversy with instagram posts and clothing designs. As a powerful multi-media aficionado, she’s someone who will be crossing boundaries and influencing the world of art, as she strives to communicate the variety of realities of what it means to be a woman.

TODAY, women play a strong role across all aspects of our society. Despite their rising successes, there are underlying forces and prejudices that have made this an even more difficult feat, which makes them all the more worthy of celebrating. It’s time to recognize that we shouldn’t be taking these great strides for granted, and need to continually support and applaud women like these for working to push the gender confines of our world and bettering it in the process.

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( d e d e n t n A ( d d e uara n e t A n ( a r d e a e u t G n a t r d a No e u e t G Jobs Not Guaranteed n t a o r N a u s G b t o t o J (And That’s Okay) o N N s b o s J b o y J a k O y s a s b k o J O y a s ’ k t O a s ’ t Th a y a Th k d n O s A ’ t ( a d e e Th t d n s ’ t ran A a ( d Th e e d t n n a A ( r a d e u d e G t n n A a ( r d a e u e t G n t a o r a d sN u e e G t t n o a N r a s u b o G t J o t o N ay s N b o s J b y o a J k O y s ’ a s ’ k at t a O Th s ’ t a Th d n d A d ( n e e t n d a e r e a t u n G a r t t o o ua N N s s b b o o J J y y a s k ’ ka t O a s ’ Th t a Th d n d A ( d An e e t d n e a e r t a n u a G r a t t o o Gu N N s s b b o o J J ANNA RAVENELLE We have something of a career culture at Cornell, and that’s usually a good thing.

It pressures us to apply for dozens of jobs, internships, and fellowships, pushing us us to follow paths we might not have otherwise considered. It reminds us we should be searching for the best experiences and networking opportunities available.

Unfortunately, this type of career culture can also quickly become insidious, driving us to measure ourselves against each other and forget we are all following our own paths.

We’re a competitive bunch (we wouldn’t be here otherwise), but we have to stop competing with each other, even when we are literally competing with each other.

Maybe even especially then. No two Cornellians—no two people—are exactly alike. Even if you’ve taken the same courses, had the same internships, and are co-leaders in the same campus groups, at your very core, you are different.

Maybe they connected with the first interviewer but not the second; maybe they got nervous and word-vomited their way through half the questions (even though they prepared for days!); or maybe they know someone at the company. Whatever the situation, you will never know all the facts of your peers’ job search processes-or why your results were different. Each person’s career search is incomparable to anyone else’s, and we need to start treating it that way.

An engineer friend once looked at me with incredulity when I told him I didn’t have an internship for the following summer. “What do you mean you don’t know yet? I’ve known for weeks.” It was December, and the first internship for my desired industry hadn’t

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been posted yet, let alone the positions I truly wanted. Another time, I applied for a summer position on May 26th because the listing had only been posted the day before.

One June, I got a phone call—two days into my internship—about an application I had submitted in April.

There’s a pervasive idea on campus that if you don’t secure a summer internship or post-grad position by February, you’re scrambling or screwed. Career fair becomes an obligation, not an opportunity. It’s Google, Goldman Sachs, or bust. And while those companies may be a perfect fit for some, they might not be the perfect fit for you. Don’t fret. You’ll find something that is, even if your search takes a little longer.

Trying to finish applications while juggling everything else (classes, clubs, a social life) is overwhelming at times, I get it. This is a girl who stayed up until 3AM on a Friday night to write her eighteen-thousandth cover letter instead of hitting up Rulloff’s with her (already employed) friends. But ending the school year without something concrete lined up—whether it’s your first year at Cornell or your last—isn’t the catastrophe you might think. Overhaul your resume and connect with alumni in your field who went through the same thing. Take a day off to recharge, and then keep going. It might not happen easily or immediately, but it will happen.

I might not graduate with a job. Say it. It’s not so scary anymore, is it? So let’s stop the comparisons—we have enough to stress about.

WE WERE FIRST Life as a First-Generation College Student JEREMY CANDELAS Receiving an acceptance letter to Cornell is an incredible achievement for anyone. But for those of us who are the first in the family to go to college, let alone to an Ivy League school, it means something far greater than that. For us first-generation college students, it means that we and our families have been able to overcome countless obstacles to be where we are today.

Roughly one in seven students at Cornell identify as first-generation college students. As first-gens, we have defied the odds to be here, and we’ve seen new doors of opportunity open. It sounds amazing, and it is, but the story doesn’t end there. The challenges don’t just suddenly stop the day we receive our acceptance letters. The obstacles don’t magically disappear the minute we set foot on Cornell’s campus. In reality, being a first-generation college student is a doubleedged sword.

My situation is fairly unique in that both of my parents are in school now, and we will all graduate with our bachelor’s degrees within a year or two of each other. In many ways, I’m lucky to be having a shared first-generation college experience with them—we frequently send papers and homework back and forth, asking for a quick proofread or just to bounce ideas off each other. There’s a lot we have been able to figure out together, but there are still many more things about academia that I don’t fully understand, or that I’m just now figuring out. While I might not fit neatly into the definition of first-gen college student, I do identify as one.

For example, the first time I ever heard the word “internship” was when I came to Cornell. How many applications am I supposed to send out? Am I actually qualified for half the positions I’m applying for? When should I have everything all figured out? I have no idea. The idea of office hours is still bizarre to me. I understand their value, but I still haven’t gone because I’m not entirely sure what exactly you’re supposed to

say to your professors. Navigating the sea of financial aid paperwork is just as daunting and confusing now as it was when I first filled it out over three years ago.

And these are just a few sources of confusion—out of many—that I’ve encountered.

It’s easy to feel like you’re a million miles behind everyone else when you’re a first-gen student. Cornell is difficult enough without dealing with the lingering effects of impostor syndrome, the feeling that one day you’ll be discovered as a “phony” or a “fraud”—a feeling to which first-generation college students are particularly prone. And while it may seem that these feelings are purely negative, I find the opposite to often be true. These obstacles can serve as a motivating force.

It is more difficult, and a helping hand is always nice to have, but there is a certain pride in saying you’ve figured something out on your own. When it comes to dealing with symptoms of impostor syndrome, I try to view it more as a challenge not to settle for less.

Despite the nagging thoughts of feeling that I have to prove myself, I also know I don’t need to. It changes the question from “How do I prove myself?” to “How can I keep improving?” This change in perspective is something many of us first-gens can use to our advantage.

As first-generation college students, we have demonstrated our ability to overcome the countless obstacles and barriers that have stood in our way. And although being a first-generation college student isn’t easy, I’m not sure I would prefer it any other way. It’s easy to only see the setbacks we’ve encountered, but it’s important to realize that, despite those setbacks, there are triumphs to rejoice in. The day we are able to look back on our time here and say, with diplomas in hand, “we were first” will be a momentous occasion for us and our families. Getting here has been a triumph in itself, but with graduation just over the horizon, the greatest triumph is still to come.

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COLLEGETOWN GIVES STUDENTS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

NATALIE BROOKS On February 15, 2017, Cornell Cinema presented the film Collegetown. Written and directed by Cornell alumni Hugo Genes ’10, Collegetown is a work of creative non-fiction, blending documentary and scripted story to depict college students who—influenced in part by student loan debt—pursue high-paying Wall Street jobs upon graduating, only to experience the harsh realities of life at the lower levels of the investment banking world. Using parallels between the college admissions process and fraternity and sorority rush with the recruiting of students by investment banks, the film considers how students compete for finance jobs seemingly without questioning what role

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these institutions play in society, what the work entails, or whether it will be fulfilling.

By looking at the lives of those at the bottom rung of the investment banking ladder, Collegetown provides a stark contrast to the portrayal of Wall Street in television shows such as Billions and Suits and films such as Wall Street. These pop culture depictions may question the morality of some of the players, but ultimately glamorize the extravagant lifestyle of the super-rich and powerful. This may be eye opening to those students who accept without question that working for an investment bank is the ultimate achievement for a college graduate.

Genes said about the film, “I set out to map how did I go from being a 17-year-old kid who didn’t even know what an investment bank was to wanting to dedicate most of my college experience to getting a job on Wall Street…The target audience are young people today…16, 17, 18-year-olds who are watching this are able to learn about the financial positions they’re going to face in college.”

Based on the reactions of Cornell students and staff viewing the film, it appears that Genes has hit his mark. A number of viewers focused on the connection between the accumulation of student loan debt and the allure of a high paying Wall Street job. Ryan Follensbee ‘18, remarked,

“I think the film had a well-constructed narrative suggesting a predatory nature of our nation’s financial institutions. I feel what was more engaging were the astute observations of risk/ reward felt by students when facing college debt, and even in the face of the gravity of the situation, the lack of emphasis the average student puts on actually receiving and retaining an education.” Similarly, Cornell Abroad faculty member Julia Franke commented, “The situation in the Financial Aid office also gave a good insight into student’s problems. I also liked the way how the Financial Industry was presented--over present on campus, always visible, and drawing students in even if they weren’t considering it at first.”

Other students who attended the screening were struck by the hardships of post-college life.

Matthew Engel ’17, remarked, “Collegetown casts light on the social forces underpinning the ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality of Cornell students: Ever-lingering just beyond the cushy bubble of college life lies, well, the ‘Real World,’ with no guarantee of personal success therein.

I walked out of the film feeling a weight I hadn’t fully realized I was carrying all along.”

Asked how the film impacted his perspective, Victor Oliveira Reis ’18, responded, “I really enjoyed the film; to me it is in essence about how people end up doing things they are not passionate about due to financial reasons and peer pressure.”

As much as Collegetown exposes the truths about life at the lower levels of the investment banking world, the appeal of working on Wall Street is as inevitable and strong as ever.

Even after seeing the film, Reis commented, “Amusingly, I am still strongly considering working on Wall Street after graduation, but by no means in a huge corporation.” Although the draw of the lucrative investment banking world continues, particularly to those with sizeable student loan debt, Collegetown achieves Genes’ goal: it gives students insight into both the influence of Wall Street on campus and the world that awaits them if they decide to work there.

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AMANDA MADENBERG

Recently Gone Greek: What Joining Greek Life Has Taught Me AMANDA MADENBERG Sitting with my first semester friends in Bailey Hall the night before Greek Recruitment was set to begin, I had a lot of doubts about rushing. I didn’t know exactly what the process would entail; I wouldn’t even receive my schedule for each day until thirty minutes before it started. I knew there were four rounds where prospective members would visit a maximum of thirteen, then ten, then six, and finally, three sorority houses. I had also been informed of the dress code for each day. Aside from that, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Only six days after beginning rush, I met roughly two hundred new faces I would call my “sisters.” In this short time, I grew to feel an incredible sense of belonging to a powerful organization—not only within my chapter, but also as part of the Panhellenic and larger Greek community. About a third of Cornell undergraduates participate in Greek Life, and Panhellenic is just one sector of three in Cornell’s Greek system. Just as Cornell unifies its student body through traditions and campus events, so too does each organization. For some students, Greek Life provides one of those organizations and support systems, and for others, Greek Life doesn’t seem appealing. Greek Life can be a big part of your life here if you want it to be, and not if you don’t.

Simply because recruitment week was such a whirlwind, most people are glad to have it behind them. But as hectic as it was, I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed rush. Sure, it was annoying and exhausting—and sometimes stressful—to walk all over campus to each house for several consecutive days. But the time I spent within each chapter’s community was actually enjoyable: I liked talking to people, people who seemed eager and excited to get to know me. Some individuals try to make the recruitment process sound scary, but in reality it’s just composed of having hundreds of conversations about whatever comes to your mind: your favorite classes, clubs on campus, and how you spent your winter break are a few common topics. By the third round, one girl got creative and asked me what my craziest dream was. Another person asked me what superpower I would choose. Essentially, the goal is to keep the conversation flowing at all times, no matter what the subject.

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Initially, I was worried about the breadth and number of commitments I had to participate in with my sorority sisters. From mandatory house meetings to optional (but fun) getting-to-know-you bonding experiences, there was hardly a day during New Member Period that I did not have at least one sorority-related event or obligation. However, these commitments kept me busy in a worthwhile way. I am now more productive with my school work because I have limited time to study and complete assignments, and I am in a better mood because I have joined an additional community that was not part of my life during my first semester in college. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I try to remind myself that all the events I attend with my sisters will help solidify a lifelong bond of friendship that has already begun to form. I can’t wait to develop these relationships further. I’m also looking forward to living in a house next year with my sisters. While not everyone in the Greek community chooses to “live in,” many people enjoy this option during their sophomore years.

Joining a sorority really expanded my network of friends because even when I’m out on weekends with my new sisters, we all run into our friends in other houses and friends not in Greek Life. Suddenly I’m introduced to so many more people that I’ve never even met. One of the most amazing things about Cornell is that it is an incredibly diverse community with people pursuing different offerings. Because of this, you may not meet everyone that you’ll like on campus on your own. However, when you have friends that are parts of larger groups, meeting these people can end up changing your life.

Belonging to one sorority in particular certainly has its perks. It narrows down the pool of potential friends into a more manageable number of similar people (who were drawn to the same house as you). Each chapter within the Panhellenic community emphasizes different values and devotes time to different causes. From participating in chapter-wide events and fundraisers to receiving a “big” who will be your mentor throughout your time in your sorority (and maybe even for life), the sisterhood draws people together who might not have otherwise crossed paths. I’m grateful to be a part of a special organization that’s already given me so many friends, hundreds of familiar faces, and another place I can call home at Cornell.

COLLEEN SORGE Cornell is the epitome of an animal-friendly campus, bursting with obese squirrels, birds of prey, turtles and mallards splashing in Beebe Lake, and even the occasional wandering skunk.

In addition to its wide range of indigenous species, Cornell is also home to a variety of pets. Some are as basic as a snow-loving dog or resident cats, fish, and rodents in the Eco House; others, like Oliver the micropig, are a little more unique. For those Cornellians not lucky enough to have pets, life can look bleak. I’ve overheard many a student say the “person” they miss most from home is their pet. After all, you can shoot a text to your parents easily enough or Snapchat your siblings, but I’ve yet to find a social media platform that captures the animal demographic.

This deprivation of animal encounters is more apparent when my dog, Posey, visits campus. She finds herself enveloped by pet-starved students very much in need of that unique brand of animal love. By now, she’s learned that the Balch Arch is the place to be, as she can lure in passing students with a slightly pathetic tilt of the head, thus ensuring a smile at the very least.

The petless college student’s struggles are of course outweighed by the incomparable joy that comes with returning home to a pet after a long separation. My dog has learned over the years to open the front door whenever she pleases, which, while problematic for the mailman, has made my homecomings all the more enjoyable. After the initial shock of your arrival has worn off, your pet remains unconvinced of your return.

Even those who have never experienced the devotion of an animal

companion seem to delight in the creatures on campus. The seeing eye dogs in training are local celebrities, subject to the adoration of many. Even the Balch Hall chipmunks have quite the following.

After shadowing at a vet’s office over winter break, the question became all the more apparent to me: what is it that makes people so animal crazy?

Our pets seem to have a unique hold on our hearts, unlike even those of our dearest human companions. At the vet’s office, I watched as people skipped work to bring their furry darlings to the vet, their concerns ranging from a dog’s lack of enthusiasm at the arrival of the garbageman to the need for continued chemotherapy treatments. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the loss of a pet is often likened to the death of a beloved family member.

The simple answer to the age-old question is that pets are utmostly deserving of our love. They are supremely loyal, with personality types as wide-ranging as those of humans. They show affection in a variety of ways, but worship “their person” above all else. They are patient and wellmeaning, lacking all traces of malice.

While our pets give no replies in conventional language, they express a great deal with a well-timed gaze, a swat of the paw, or a querulous mumble. They offer so much, and in return ask only for our love and care.

Pets are the best bargain around! Every time I see a Cornellian stumble up the slope in pursuit of a passing dog, I am filled with joy, not only because said student is subject to a nasty stumble, but because our innate love of all creatures great and small is a redeeming quality. Now if only pets were allowed in residence halls...

Animal Crazy on Campus

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Realizing Reality

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ALISON SPANDORFER “Gossip Girl here. Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite.” These opening words to the hit TV series Gossip Girl have become iconic, heralding the inevitable drama and excitement to come in the next sixty minutes. As a native New Yorker, I yearned for that hour of television that presented the life I could’ve had, but so happily did not. Of course, being from where I’m from, people always asked, “Isn’t your life just like Gossip Girl?” While my answer was always no, I noticed a few similarities as I got older.

I did, for example, occasionally have lunch on the steps of the Met (Queen B not included), and I also loved frozen yogurt (but doesn’t everyone?). Still, I never attended masquerade balls, my friends weren’t Vanderbilts, and—to my dismay—I never had the pleasure of cavorting with Chuck Bass. While television provides us with a glimpse of how our lives could be, it often misleads us to believe that life should be as dramatic and romantic as TV portrays it.

disguised Gossip Girl’s claim that “you’re nobody until you’re talked about.” Perhaps the nonchalant attitude that Gossip Girl has about making mistakes should play a larger role in all of our lives. If so, would we all end up marrying our best friend who is running from the police and also used to be the biggest jerk in all of Manhattan?

Probably not.

The mistakes that the characters in Gossip Girl and other shows alike make can be forgiven at times, but still, modern day television provides viewers with overly dramatic love stories, lavish views of the lifestyles of the wealthy, and numerous excused manipulations. This isn’t real life. This never will be real life, but entertainment companies are feeding these expectations to people across the world. Still, if a television program followed the life of an ordinary person, it would be mundane, boring, and cancelled halfway through the first season.

With programs like Netflix and HBOGo, students can watch their favorite TV shows on their laptops whenever they want. Admit it, we have all stared at the kid streaming a hockey game in class; that’s multitasking at its finest. TV serves as a distraction, a very good one at that, but sometimes, these distractions are counterproductive (like watching Netflix in Olin instead of writing an essay).

Television has become a major talking point for millennials. If you’re an avid fan of any popular show, you cannot escape the spoilers broadcasted all over social media. If you are not a fan of a show that is trending at the moment, you are immediately cast into the black hole that goes with not being a part of a cultural craze.

These entertainment trends can not only be exclusive but can also be negative influences.

Keeping Up With the Kardashians—while entertaining and humorous for mature audiences—can have a harmful influence on young adults and teenagers. It exposes teens to explicit conversations about dating, sexual conduct, and other NSFW content with unrealistic expectations of “reality.”

Ever sit and think about the almost perfect lives your favorite characters have? TV often displays an overly idealistic life, such as the ones in Gossip Girl, where there are limited consequences and all the “good” characters have a happily ever after. It feels as if this is how life is and should be when in fact, this is not reality.

One of my favorite Gossip Girl quotes is the 22 • SLOPE MAG

Embracing Empathy On Campus ASHLEY RADPARVAR The golden rule: treat others the way you would like to be treated.

This phrase today is too often heard, but not always well followed. As students bustle around campus to get to class and focus on piles of work that need to be done (cue anxiety attack), it’s hard enough to remember to relax and breathe, let alone think about how we treat others. However, with the recent political climate, growing mental health awareness, and just the daily dose of Cornell stress, the golden rule should be followed now more than ever.

When I first came to college, I knew what it meant to be sensitive to others, to understand other viewpoints, and to respect how others feel. However, this understanding was not fully indoctrinated into me until after my first semester. Sure, I knew that it was important to treat others like I would want to be treated. Sure, I knew that there were plenty of perspectives that I was not accustomed to or had not heard of. But it took some time for me to truly understand what empathy means and how I could apply it daily.

The classic definition of empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. This definition contains one key word to truly recognizing the nature of empathy: understanding. Contrary to popular belief, having empathy doesn’t mean feeling sorry or having sympathy for others. Rather, having empathy means having an understanding.

Empathy means that you don’t just see others as beings in distress, but that you see them in distress and feel their pain along with them.

It means being there with them in times of hardship, understanding where they’re coming from, and trying to work with them to ease their stress. As Psychiatrist Dr. Judith Orloff states, “Empathy is when we reach our hearts out to others and put ourselves in their shoes.”

It is often hard to understand without experiencing and trying it out first. Having empathy is not a skill everyone readily has. If everyone were born with this skill, we would be living in a better world. However,

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that is not to say that we can’t learn empathy. In fact, it is imperative for us to all have empathy for our friends, students, colleagues and human beings in general. Whether it means reaching out to your friend who’s stressing out about prelims, reaching out to someone who needs some extra support, or helping a homeless man on the street, it’s important that we exercise empathy daily.

At Cornell, we often get too carried away with our work and our studying to even spend time thinking about our own mental health.

Everyone needs a break and a person to talk to when they’re most stressed, even though we’re often too stressed to even notice our own psychological state. Thankfully, there are tons of resources on campus that can provide mental health assistance to anyone in need.

Empathy, Assistance, and Referral Services, or EARS, is often a great resource for students to go to when they’re just feeling stressed, upset, or annoyed at something they may be dealing with. As an anonymous peer counseling service, EARS provides empathy services for people dealing with any type of stress, big or small. There are also some other services that students can reach out to such as Cornell Minds Matter, “Let’s Talk,” and CAPS. With tons of resources on campus, Cornell is there to support you no matter what your mental state may be.

As a pre-med student, I understand the value of empathy in the medical field, where understanding is crucial to a good patient-doctor relationship. However, it is important to note that empathy is not just a “medical field’ quality. Empathy is a quality that every single one of us can use daily. It is a quality that even used modestly can have dramatic effects on others. Just think about it--reaching out to one person and showing you’re with them can mean the world to that one person.

And maybe that one person will pass it forward. We can only hope that every good deed we do encourages future good deeds. In our increasingly complicated, confusing, stressful world, if we all empathize just a little bit with each other, we may be able to make a huge impact.

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DOMINIQUE TURNER We have all heard our parents, grandparents, maybe even our professors say it: “We are living in the digital age.” Recently, that phrase has expanded beyond simply everyone FaceTiming instead of meeting for coffee or retrieving news from their CNN app instead of the newspaper.

This “digital age” now encompasses the dating world.

Growing up you see eHarmony ads on television, as a teenager you text your crush all the time, he or she may even ask you out over g-chat or iMessage, and as a young adult your friends may low-key dabble on Tinder or Bumble. Dating was naturally integrated into the digital age, but as I matured I noticed that these different ways of interacting have their pros and cons. I wondered if the fact that they exist at all and that our generation uses them so frequently is possibly ruining the true nature of dating culture?

Take read receipts for example. Many people, like myself, simply turn them on just because, but others turn them on to prove a point to their significant other. It’s the new “silent treatment”– a way to let the girl or guy you’re texting know that you’re upset or that their last text wasn’t good enough to respond to. Sometimes read receipts help us build the tension, the anticipation, and keep “the chase” going by not opening a text.

We’ve probably all been on the receiving end as well. Our hearts drop, we start texting our friends, or we second guess our worth as humans when the girl or guy we’re into only “reads” the text and doesn’t respond. We ask ourselves: “Does he like me?,“Does she still want to hangout on Friday?,” “Am I forcing this connection?” We question ourselves because of a one minute detail in the bigger picture of life.

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Looking at it from this perspective, it seems a bit strange that we have taken this so far. The idea of basing what you say to someone because of the time constraints attached to it taints the beauty of dating and truly getting to know someone.

Of course there is the element of surprise when texting someone to get to know them. Everyone loves the butterflies they get from someone new, but if there is a constant second guessing of how you may feel or want to act the potential of anything real or genuine is almost ruined.

This problem may exist, but how can we as a “digital society” come out of this reliance on our social media to guide us through and assist us in our relationships? It might be worth our time to figure out how the other person feels the “old fashioned way” again. Going on more one-on-one dates, understanding and experiencing people in and out of their comfort zones, and most importantly, not relying on social media as the number one form of communication with the person.

Combatting the digital age of social media isn’t the easiest of tasks, but doing little things such as a no phone policy at dinner or phone calls instead of simply texting or snapchatting, can help our society ease away from relying only on social media in this exclusively digital age. I’m not suggesting that we send 5-page love letters, but sometimes an in person meeting can restore parts of dating culture that have been forgotten.

Believe me, I’m all about having the “red heart” on snapchat with someone you’re really into, but every now and then I bet it would be more fulfilling to see the person actually laugh at the funny caption you just created for your story, than just receiving the laughing-crying emoji.

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Socially Involved ALANNA FICHTEL Recent politics stemming from the previous election have brought unprecedented and tumultuous change, arguably one of the highest times of political instability in American history. Many of us likely find the magnitude of unusual events in the news to be exciting to follow and choose to do so. Yet even if we don’t seek out news, the presence of and our involvement with social media hardly lets us not be informed.

seemed to be deeply affected by this election season and outcome. Many had difficulty dealing with a Trump presidency because we were unsure of what was to come, and thought the election was a truly unusual turn of events in the history of American politics. Perhaps this was because it was the first time many of us were voting, and were old enough to understand the importance, whereas our parents have had much more experience in this area.

Due to our active use of social media, news is all around us—in a push notification, in a Facebook news headline, or on our Twitter feed. Our minds are saturated with news stories, because of our frequent, sometimes inadvertent, interactions with news outlets. In addition, email newsletters like theSkimm are growing in prevalence and popularity among millennials. It’s an easy, quick way to be informed about what’s going on the in the country and the world.

But social media played a role as well. We followed each news story, debate and commentary easily, as they popped up on our phones and News Feeds. We subsequently became more and more invested in our support for our candidate and the election outcome. We saw articles shared on Facebook, that would excite or enrage us, and would copy and paste them into a relevant group chat to share and spark discussion.

Such easy access to news sources is something our parents and previous generations did not have--imagine having to actually pick up a printed newspaper to see what happened the day before, or turn on the radio or TV if you wanted to hear about breaking news. When our parents were in college, it was likely just the political gurus who were always on top of developing stories.

News at our fingertips has automatically made all of us more informed and invested in politics. Even if you’re not a government major, president of the Cornell Democrats, or a volunteer for your local politician, you likely have a sense of what is going on in politics, and have some form of political opinion. This political interest was evident on campus during this past election season.

Trump’s election brought unexpected consequences to us all as individuals, students, and Americans, regardless of our political affiliations. Our generation especially

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Post-election, the effect of the information we receive from social media has continued. We are aware of and form opinions on the events happening in Washington and public officials’ responses to them.

And the effects of news media on millennials can have effects on politics in turn. Being so informed seems to have sparked a desire to incite change in many of us. Our involvement in politics has already stemmed into activism, evidenced by the number of young people participating in protests on Cornell’s campus as well as around the country. If social media is in any way driving this interest, we should celebrate it. Our involvement in politics and political action doesn’t seem like it’s something that will die down soon—and that’s something millennials have to be proud of.

& Politically Informed

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COLLEGE

A JOURNEY TO KNOWING YOURSELF SARAH SAXENA College: it’s fun, new, exciting, and just a little bit crazy.

It’s probably the first time you had to do your own laundry, obviously forgetting to separate lights and darks, ruining half of your wardrobe. You also have to finding a way to feed yourself on a daily basis; your diet will thus undoubtedly consist almost exclusively of Easy-Mac, ramen and Goldfish. If you’re anything like me, you will burst out in tears at least once a week because you find yourself eating at all times of the day and your hunger is still insatiable. You may have even slept through a couple classes because you stayed up till some devilishly early hour watching YouTube videos and your parents weren’t around to wake you up the next morning.

In college, you hold the spirit of an adolescent while carrying the responsibilities of an adult. As you progress through your time at Cornell, you will not only learn domestic life skills, but also all about yourself. Coming to college is one of those influential transitional periods that engenders exploration and self-discovery.

The first thing that you will realize when you come to school is that no one is there to look out for you but yourself. No one will scold you for not going to your 9:05 lecture for three weeks. No one is there to be the voice of reason when your friends try to convince you to go out three nights the weekend before your prelim. It is your responsibility to do what is best for you. Finding a way to balance school work and friends with mental, emotional and physical well being is not always easy.

My first semester freshman year, I struggled to find this balance. Instead of organizing myself and maximizing the time in my day so that I could accomplish everything that I wanted to do, I found myself prioritizing the wrong things and wasting a lot of my days. Looking back on the semester, I realized that I had to take better care of

myself, and that included learning how to choose what was best for me and be more in control of what I was doing.

Learning to take personal initiative and responsibility is one of the most important skills to develop in college. It is through this self-awareness that you will become more akin to what it is that you want and need to make you happy and ultimately successful.

When focusing on yourself, it is so important to find out what you absolutely love (or don’t love) to do. Ask yourself: What am I going to do with my life? What am I passionate about? I started off on the pre-med track.

It was so much harder than high school and I definitely had my doubts throughout my entire first semester I came to recognize the importance of exposure to other fields before committing to a career path. Try as many new things as you can. You will undoubtedly take classes that you detest with all of your being, but you may also find something that sparks your interest, something you maybe never considered before.. You may discover that you will never be an astrophysicist, a business man/ woman, or a computer scientist and that’s ok. That’s okay. It is critical that you are honest with yourself. Don’t choose a path that someone else wants for you. Cornell’s career fairs, club fests and huge breadth of classes will allow you to explore all that the school has to offer. Don’t settle for something because you are too lazy or afraid to switch to something you might be more passionate about.

Having confidence, enthusiasm and the willingness to take (responsible) risks are characteristics that everyone develops over the course of their four years in college.

Strive to make the best of Cornell, not only for yourself but for everyone around you. You will find that your journey here will shape you into an amazing, well-rounded adult and will prepare you for the real world more than you could ever imagine.

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