Dear Beautiful Niece,

There is so much to take into account when admiring someone's beauty and for many it has nothing to do with how the person looks on the outside. The life of a "beauty" is not necessarily all that rosy. In fact, many so-called beauties say that they are forever in search of someone who would love them for who they are vs. what they look like. Some find that they rely on their looks rather than developing meaningful interpersonal or career oriented skills. Just spend some time reading the stories of the beautiful, rich and famous in the tabloids... not so glorious!

Beauty and attractiveness has to do with someone's confidence and pizzazz, not only how they physically look. When you enter that phase in your life where you are doing exciting things and following your dreams, you will find happiness. Medication is only a first step, but recovering from depression is a three part process that usually includes medication, regular counseling and creating or finding an environment that is most conducive to your growth and development.

If you aren't in counseling now, I would recommend it. It will do wonders for your perspective on life and that will effect your actions and therefore your feelings. You may be feeling a bit of anxiety about the transition from college to that outside world, but I think you will find that as a young, educated person excited about things to come, you will attract like minded people who care about who you are, what you are good at and what you believe in.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Elms,

The famed Stump was once a beloved Cornell landmark. After Dutch Elm Disease killed the elm trees on campus in the 1960s, this six-foot-tall stump was left near the entrance of Willard Straight Hall. It served as a soapbox, podium, and bulletin board for many years of Cornellians. In November 1975, a group of students cut the stump down and posted a ransom note as a classified ad in The Daily Sun. They claimed to be raising funds for UNICEF, but an intrepid Sun reporter investigated and found the stump in nearby Treman Park. Although a grounds crew reattached the severed stump with metal rods, the damage had been done. Vandals knocked it over later in the semester, and the severed stump was eventually discarded. The remaining (much shorter) stump was removed in 1977.

The plaque commemorating the Stump is to the right of Willard Straight's main entrance, reading "This tree replacing the beloved "Stump" is a gift from the class of 1977."

For more fun stories like this, you can check Wikipedia's page on "Cornelliana." Or check eBay for an old copy of "Behind the Ivy," a 1950 book of Cornell stories and memories by Romeyn Berry, 1904 alumnus and manager of athletics at Cornell.

Thank you, Corey Earle, for gathering the info for this answer.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Worried,

If you just let things continue the way they are you will definitely not succeed at Cornell.  Please go to an advisor in your college.  Work with them to find out what is happening and find a path to enable you to be successful. Sometimes advisors can help a studetn make special arrangements in order to succeed.

Maybe you need help with time management or study skills.  Is there a way to study more efficiently?  Are you able to focus when you are working or does the attraction of the internet distract you?  It is possible that you didn't have the background that you needed for these courses?  Are you really putting in the time that is needed.  Are you getting enough sleep, eating well to fuel your brain and getting some exercise to keep your blood flowing.  Is this really where your talents and skills are or maybe there is another field that better uses your strengths and interests?

There are so many ways that this could go.  It it up to you to take charge, get help, and move forward.  Don't go it alone.  Talk to an advisor in the Student Services and Academic Advising Office today.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Curious Campus Explorer,

The Student Centennial Garden, student-designed and built by budding horticulturists and landscape architects in 2004 to honor the Ag College’s hundredth anniversary—stirs bittersweet emotions for old-timers on both sides of a preservation controversy. 

That is because those “remains of statues” are all that’s left of the Ag College’s original three buildings— Stone Hall, Roberts Hall and East Roberts— that were torn down in the 1980s, over vocal protests of preservations and attempted legal action.  Built in 1905 and dedicated in 1907, Stone Hall (essentially where the Trillium dining hall is now) was for the Department of Rural Education.  Whereas Roberts (topped with a farm-tool-wielding statue of heroic agriculturists) was for Ag administration and classrooms, and East Roberts was dairy science.

The three breezeway-connected buildings were declared unsafe, inefficient, and uneconomical to renovate— even though Roberts was on the national list of historic places— and the wrecking ball moved in early one morning before most people were on campus.  The haste of the demolition can be seen in the four shattered chunks of the carved-stone “Roberts Hall,” arrayed around the two wooden structures.

A lot of credit goes to those 2004 students and their instructors — for finding those chunks of history wherever they had been stashed, and for designing a beautiful garden around them.

And you, Curious Explorer, also deserve three cheers for finding this secluded little garden —blocked off as it is by construction fence for the Warren Hall renovation project.  (At least Warren Hall is being rehabilitated—at great expense— and not torn down.) So here’s your next assignment: Try to find an entire building (Hint: it’s a library) with embedded architectural elements from the demolished 1892 Law School building that was old and in the way.      

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Spectacles,

Thanks for thinking of others in this time of need (and towering canned goods) but Your Uncle won’t get too specific—because food drives come and go so quickly and DUE answers are for all eternity. 

To find the nearest food-collection point at any given time, call the Human Services 2-1-1 hotline or go to the 2-1-1 Tompkins website http://www.hsctc.org/index.php?page=information-referral.

Some food drives help local food pantries, while others are for individual emergencies — like the Owego, N.Y., flood, with a collection box currently (November 2011) on the first floor of RPCC.  More and more in these hard times, every grocery and supermarket (the nearest to campus is at East Hill Plaza) has a food collection box.

And if you can’t find an ongoing food drive— consider starting one of your own.  You can’t be the only Cornell student with too many cans and not enough home-baked cookies.  Please don’t forget to thank your Mom.  Sample note: “The flood victims really appreciated the canned artichoke hearts, and my housemates loved the cookies —even the gluten-free, lactose-intolerant vegan kid in the corner room.  P.S. send more cookies.” 

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Shroom Scholar,

As you note, the  “ . . . and More” part of PLPA 2013’s course title means more work for you. So let’s get a reading from the Arts College advising office, and in particular from Assistant Dean James Finlay, who advises:

“Approved classes are listed in the A&S section of the Courses of Study under the heading ‘Graduation Requirements’.

http://courses.cornell.edu/content.php?catoid=12&navoid=2087

“PLPA 2010 cannot be applied toward the College of Arts & Sciences Physical & Biological Sciences (PBS) requirement. Both PLPA 2013 and 2015 are PBS courses from the ‘Supplementary List’.”

Ever since Prof George Hudler began teaching Magical Mushrooms, it’s become one of the legendary Cornell classes — reaching number 4 on the Daily Sun’s list of Top 10 to take before graduating (http://cornellsun.com/node/39463).  Sure you have to write a paper or two (science will do that to you) but the labs get rave reviews from PLPA 2013 students — with topics like cultivating and eating oyster mushrooms, making beer, and tromping around nearby forests.  How bad can that be?

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Student,

ILR stands for Industrial and Labor Relations. Intro courses in this program introduce students to different elements of organizational psychology, economics, social history, statistics, and management and law. As an ILR students must also complete three distribution electives and take a certain number of general electives at the university. Most of the introductory courses are taken during the first 4 semesters and they include: Intro to ILR School, Intro to Organizational Behavior and Analysis, History of American Labor, Intro Microeconomics, Intro Macroeconomics, Statistical Reasoning, Labor and Employment Law, Human Resource Management, Collective Bargaining, and Economics of Wages and Employment.

PAM stands for Policy Analysis Management. This program is organized around issues in society and not just academic disciplines such as biology or psychology or sociology. There are eleven majors offered through the PAM program, and depending on which one you chose, your classes for the next four years will be based on that major. Intro courses depend on which major you decided to apply for within PAM: Biology and Society; Facilities, Planning and Management; Human Factors and Ergonomics; Interior Design; Human Biology, Health and Society; Human Development; Nutritional Sciences; Policy Analysis and Management; Apparel Design; Fashion Design Management; Fiver Science.

STSCI stands for Statistical Science. The program focuses on the study of empirical quantitative reasoning in a scientific and social context. There are three major components in this program: Mathematical Statistics; Applied Statistics; and Computational Statistics. The major has 14 core courses: 8 in Statistical Theory, 3 in Statistical Application, and 3 in External Specialization (any 3 300+ courses outside of the major)

STSCI stands for Statistical Science. The program focuses on the study of empirical quantitative reasoning in a scientific and social context. There are three major components in this program: Mathematical Statistics; Applied Statistics; and Computational Statistics. The major has 14 core courses: 8 in Statistical Theory, 3 in Statistical Application, and 3 in External Specialization (any 3 300+ courses outside of the major).

Enjoy the wealth of courses at Cornell and good luck with this decision.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Swinger,

You have a couple of options for batting cages in the area! First there is Sandlot Sports Academy, located in the Elmira-Corning area. It is open from 3-8pm Monday through Friday and 11am-3pm on Saturdays. The fee is $15 per person with no time restriction. Your second option would be joining with the Batting Practice Club! This a casual, non competitive club led by Matthew J Leineweber, and it meets around the availability of the batting cages in the Ramin Room. To find out the time of the club's next meeting you can email Matthew at mjl266@cornell.edu.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Inquisitive,

To answer your driving lessons questions, yes, there is a driving school located downtown in the Commons. It is the Big Red Bell Driving school and you can contact the school at 607-273-5880. Typically, due to high demand in lessons, you will have to leave your name, number, and question on the answering machine and the company will call you back to make an appointment. Lessons are an hour long and will cost you $60 if you use the car that is provided by the driving school. Before taking any lessons however, you must get your learner's permit at the Ithaca DMV in the Commons. You can do this by taking a short test at their location Mon-Fri between 8:30AM-4:00PM.

In regards to your questions about staying on as a student at the university, it is actually possible to do so! First, however, you would have to graduate after completing your current program, then you would need to apply to Cornell's School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions. This program allows for you to become a part-time student at the university and take ANY courses offered in ANY of the seven schools on campus. To enroll in the program or for more information follow this link: http://www.sce.cornell.edu/.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Font Afflicted,

Two of the University’s graphic designers who were involved in the latest logo redesign (Linda Mikula and Clive Howard) agree the stuff is called Frutiger Bold Outlined.

If you’re suffering NFF (Nagging Frutiger Familiarity), it might be because the typeface is widely used in institutions — among them the London School of Economics, University of Southern California, Hong Kong Institute of Public Accountants, Bay Area Rapid Transit, National Health Service. But it sure is fun to wonder: what message were those logo designers trying to convey when they chose that typeface?  How does that font make you feel?

Uncle Ezra