Dear Graduate-to-be,

First of all, remember that since the who you are today looks nothing like who you were a few years ago, it will be that new you that will be graduating not the old you.  You have grown, developed, thrived and become a competent, connected, hopeful human being with great self-respect and some self-confidence.

Also the world that you are entering will be a world that you have much control over.  You will choose your job, your friends, where you live and your place of work.  You are not going back to the dysfunctional family that you came from and you also now have control over how much time you see them or don't see them. The important thing is to not equate your life after college with your life before college. It will be very different. 

I advise you to take some time making a list of all the things that will be different between life before and after college; for example before college you couldn't even be a cashier, but now you are excelling in an internship. Then write a good clear description of how "you" are different now given all that you have experienced here at Cornell.

Understand that you are not alone in feeling some fear and anxiety about making this transition. Change can be hard. All transitions are somewhat scarey, especially when you are leaving a place of comfort and connection. So, I give you credit for naming exactly what is going on and preparing now for the next step.  Remember it is easy to know what you are leaving behind, but much harder to understand all the opportunities that await you.

Another suggestion that I have is for you to write down, draw or make a collage of what you would like your future to look like in the first few years after graduating.  Where do you want to live, who do you want in your life, what type of job will you have, what will your extracurricular activities be, who will you stay in touch with from Cornell?  Use this to form your vision, so you have a concrete picture to strive for. 

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Collegetown Resident,

The Cornell Police were able to help me answer this question:

The answer to your question is yes, you are likely to get in trouble. To start, let’s talk about providing alcohol to minors. It is called, “Unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree”, which is a class A Misdemeanor under the New York State Penal Law, Section 260.20 sub section 2.   

It states that, “A person is guilty of unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree when: He/she gives or sells or causes to be given or sold any alcoholic beverage, as defined by section three of the alcoholic beverage control law, to a person less than twenty-one years old; except that this subdivision does not apply to the parent or guardian of such a person or to a person who gives or causes to be given any such alcoholic beverage to a person under the age of twenty-one years, who is a student in a curriculum licensed or registered by the state education department, where the tasting or imbibing of alcoholic beverages is required in courses that are part of the required curriculum, provided such alcoholic beverages are given only for instructional purposes during classes conducted pursuant to such curriculum. “  

You should also be aware that if an individual is consuming an alcoholic beverage under the age of twenty one he/she will be in violation of Unlawful Possession of an alcoholic beverage with the intent to consume by persons under the age of twenty-one years, which is a violation under the Alcohol Beverage Control Law , 65-c. That law states:  “§ 65-c. Unlawful possession of an alcoholic beverage with the intent to consume by persons under the age of twenty-one years.  1.  Except as hereinafter provided, no person under the age of twenty-one years shall possess any alcoholic beverage, as defined in this chapter, with the intent to consume such beverage.  

If Officers respond to your apartment. they will conduct an investigation to find out who served the individuals under 21. Among the factors the Officers will consider during the investigation are; are you the only one there that is 21 years of age, who’s apartment it is, and how the alcohol was served and by whom.  Since it is your apartment , you could be charged for Unlawfully Dealing with a child.

It is best practice to not associate yourself with individuals that are under the age of 21 if they are consuming alcohol and to not invite people under 21 to drink at your residence. If found guilty of this charge, you could be fined and/ or given up to 1 year of imprisonment.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Interested Reader,

Dear Uncle Ezra has so many wonderful helpers.  Elaine Engst, Cornell Historian, has been an excellent resource, as has Corey Ryan Earle and Carol Kamman.  We treasure their expertise as they treasure Cornell history.

Our very complete answer to the Memorial Room Elk Heads was researched by the fine students in the WSH Resource Center in the Lobby of Willard Straight Hall. 

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Starving,

We can't change the dining schedule since there are very few of you who get up that early, but you can prepare for times when you know you will be hungry.  Sounds like it would be helpful for you to have a few things on hand to eat before the dining halls open, and then go for your big breakfast at 7.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Reader,

Thanks for the update.  It is always wonderful to recieve information from readers when Uncle Ezra only has part of the story!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Sleep Deprived Niece,

Those coveted letters (“You have been elected to membership in the Cornell Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, Theta of New York . . . ”) are out by now (now being mid-February) and were sent both to e-mail and Ithaca addresses of the honorees by the Arts College Dean’s office, which administers PBK affairs here (http://as.cornell.edu/academics/opportunities/pbk.cfm). The cutoff GPA for juniors this year was 4.05. Congratulations to all who made the cut

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Tenure Track,

These are great questions for the Commencement Office’s Connie Mabry, who explains:

“ One should always wear the gown that represents your own degree. So a Master degree gown, black with very long sleeves, and the hood with brown velvet close to the neck and the back lined with Cornell red and 2 white angled stripes on the red lining that will show on your back as you walk. Refer to the list on our website: http://www.commencement.cornell.edu/PDF/HoodColors.pdf

A black tassel for the master degree. A professor emeritus would wear the gown of her/his highest degree.”

Thanks, Connie, for that.  Good luck organizing this year’s Commencement exercises — where graduating undergrads wear silly things on their caps (like “Hire me” signs), where faculty members from foreign universities wear unintentionally silly headgear (“Weren’t you in ‘Harry Potter?’”) and where proud parents in the stands wear smiles (and tears) oh so well.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Baseball Enthusiast,

You learn something new everyday!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Proper Way,

Wondering why you don’t ask this of your course instructor — but admittedly not knowing formats from doormats — Your Uncle redirects to the Olin-Uris Reference Desk, where Ref. Lib. Tony explains:

“This is something that is typically dictated by the instructor.  It may be best for the student to check with the instructor directly.  However, I did consult our MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Olin Ref. LB 23009) and on pages 116-117 it covers research paper headings and titles.  It may be different for essays.”

Please don’t take the “dictated” bit literally.  Most instructors around here are not dictators.  In case yours is, approach the podium after class and say something to the effect of:

“Excuse me but I’m guessing you want our papers titled per the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers pp. 116-117, eh?  You’re not one of those cranky instructors with weird rules that you somehow forgot to mention, no?”

Wishing you luck with the assignment.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Deferred,

My only advice is to do the best that you can.  The admissions office takes so very many things into consideration.  It is so difficult to calculate exactly how they weight each factor. Good luck and HOpe to see you here in the fall.

Uncle Ezra