The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/author/aminahtaariq/)
By the beginning of my Fall semester, I realized that I was still a small formation of organic matter, unable to size up the solid giants that roam this campus. I wondered if I would ever be strong enough to shatter the glass ceiling and attain the successes that were expected of me. In order to reach that goal, I had to be willing to push far past my limits and achieve as much as I could, otherwise I would never make it.
As a graduating senior actively on the job search, what the future conditions of my career will be have been at the forefront of my mind. Besides the overachieving amount of academic and extracurricular work I have engaged in throughout high school and college, I have also worked paying jobs since I was 15. This has included positions in restaurants, retail stores, events, administrative offices, computer databases and NGO’s. I worked not only as a means of professional and skill development, but also for my livelihood. Being financially independent means that the only way to receive the things I need is to work for it.
Black people are tired. But the degree to which Black people and people of color have surmounted oppression and excelled in America shows our strength. The Black students and alumni at Cornell are a testament to this triumph.
We must continue to take care of ourselves and the people around us by practicing social distancing.
As much as we love Cornell, many students jump at the chance to leave. Whether it is for a break, a semester or a whole academic year, many students take the opportunity to participate in an exodus off-campus and explore new and exciting places either abroad or domestically. But can you really blame them? Imagine an opportunity to act like an adult but with a great support system, a chance to skip an Ithaca winter and spend our weekends traveling to nearby countries, or doing homework in a forest. Sounds better than trekking to the arts quad.
The Cornell Black community is filled with intelligence, activism and hard work. By giving just a glimpse of what makes us who we are, I hope that the greater community not only gains more insight on what happens in different pockets of Cornell’s community, but is inspired to celebrate Black History Month as well.
I am one of the lucky ones, right? Being able to come to an Ivy League university despite coming from a low-income community and a single-parent first-generation household. I am one of the lucky ones. Being able to completely forget the reality of home in my little ivory tower. I am lucky to have an unlimited meal plan, even though it was forced and the food is poorly seasoned.
Cornell University is one of thousands of institutions dedicated to sustainability and carbon neutrality. Not only are the ecological benefits of these missions evident, but they could also mean savings in revenue for the University. According to a comparative analysis by Morgan Stanley Capital Investment, fossil fuel free funds increased 12.56 percent between years 2014 and 2018. This yields a 0.65 percent increase in returns compared to funds that contain fossil fuel equities. For Cornell’s endowment, this increase in returns could produce over $1 billion of asset increases in a span of at least five years.
Black History Month, which was officially recognized in the 1970s, is not only a celebration of people and events throughout Black history, but it is also a reminder of the freedom now held by those in the Pan-African diaspora. An accomplishment I feel may be taken for granted. In our modern institutional settings, where Black contributions are oftentimes overlooked, the month of February provides us with an important reminder of where we have come from, and what we can achieve. But what does the view of Black excellence look like from an ivory tower? Cornell University does have a historic commitment to diversity, which is in tune with its mission, “any person … any study,” created during the founding of the University.
About two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the 2019 Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference as a Class of 2021 Class Councils representative, alongside around 100 other current Cornell student leaders. Generations of alumni also came to the event to engage in networking and small group discussions with students. I was also present for Paul Blanchard’s ’52 acceptance speech for the William “Bill” Vanneman ’31 Outstanding Class Leader Award. When Blanchard referred to the Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige as a “Negro” and said “now they call them Blacks,” my jaw dropped, followed by stifled laughter. This was the same reaction I had to his earlier comment about surveying female students on the Arts Quad.