Columns

CHOUNG | All Majors Are Hard

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Bombing a prelim seems so easy to say and accept, but once you’re in that situation, it can feel like the end of the world, especially to students who are ambitious and high achievers. It feels harder for me to accept this reality because I caged myself in the notion that I shouldn’t find any of my classes difficult, especially because I am in a humanities-based major. As a student studying Policy Analysis and Management, I’ve always compared my workload to my pre-medical or engineering friends and discredited my own struggles. Every time I catch myself feeling down about the amount of work I have to do, I scold myself for thinking my classes are difficult when my friends have it worse than me. I’ve only just come to the realization that I need to show myself grace and acknowledge that I may find my major difficult. This doesn’t discount my intelligence or efforts, but is just another demonstration of how academically rigorous Cornell is. 

Saying that you failed a prelim can be numbing, especially with the prevalent prelim culture here on campus. I seem to hear this phrase every week, especially from students in more academically demanding majors, such as engineering or pre-med students. It almost seems to be a rite of passage and a sense of pride for Cornell students — you are not officially one of us until you’ve felt the pressures of academic success looming over you. Your struggles feel heard if everyone collectively agrees that a prelim was hard, and you feel especially validated when you are in a more traditionally difficult major. However, as many know, Cornell also offers many non-traditional majors.

Columns

POGGI | Has College Made me Stupid?

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The truth behind my “feeling stupid” likely lies somewhere in between these theories, and is a product of both a new academic environment and the natural changes that accompany growing older and attending college.

Columns

DERY | Sports for the Dorks

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When I see the six players in red and white on the ice, I see my fellow Cornellians, past and present, known and unknown to me, with whom I’ve shared the Cornell tradition. College sports are mechanisms to uplift the campus community, and unite its students — who otherwise diverge into a wide spread of interests — behind one common goal. For those of us primarily immersed in Cornell’s academics,  sports are a healthy outlet to engage with our community. In its attempt to build a more academically inclined, intellectual campus, Cornell should look to invest more in its sports programs. 

Columns

DO | The Myth of Passion

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All this stress and worry raises a valuable question: why? Why do we toil so much over our resumes, to the point of unhealthy self-comparisons? Why do we pursue shiny executive board positions in professionally-oriented clubs when there are so many other interesting uses of our time? Why does everyone seem to have their professional futures figured out, while I can’t go a week without contemplating dropping out and becoming an “influencer”?

academics

Building Your Professional Skill Sets Through Cornell Courses

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For students from non-traditional majors looking to build transferable skills for the professional workplace, choosing classes can be overwhelming. Two Cornell undergraduates and two recent graduates offered tips for ways to gain transferable skills for the workplace through Cornell’s many courses.