Activism

COLLINS | Aviva Rahmani’s Blued Trees and the Fight Against Pipelines

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The relationship between art and law in the United States often seems to be characterized by the latter settling issues about the production and consumption of the former. Artists and consumers have taken to the courts to settle issues about the boundaries of obscenity, fair use and various other issues. A large part of what makes eco-artist Aviva Rahmani’s Blued Trees captivating is Rahmani’s desire to flip the script and use art as a tool to achieve legal gains. This is not to say that Blued Trees is purely a legal maneuver. The work, which consists of “tree ‘notes’” painted with a “slurry of non-toxic ultramarine blue pigment and buttermilk” to “form discreet 1/3 mile long ‘measures’ in the symphony,” functions on multiple levels: musical, spatial, visual.

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1958 Student Protests

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Curfews and parties were the subject of this 1958 student protest where students struck fear into the heart of the administration by throwing eggs and waving flags. Sun File Photo.

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Generation O: Is it Over? Activism After the Election

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On Nov. 4, Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States. A key contingent of Obama’s support base was the nation’s youth — most recently termed Generation O — who campaigned across the country for “The Change We Need.” Now that the American citizenry has voted in favor of Obama, the question remains as to what will happen to the student activism.
While Prof. Theodore Lowi, government, called the increase of student activism “impressive,” he sees it as a unique phenomenon.

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A Look Into China, A Glance Back Out

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“Adversities only make our country stronger,” the leadership of the All-China Students Federation told the Ivy League Student Delegation in a heartfelt recap of the devastation caused by the Wenchuan Earthquake – a natural disaster that has since left over 65,000 Chinese residents of the Sichuan Province dead, over 4.8 million homeless and over 23,000 missing.

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Cornell Community Mourns Victims of Earthquake in China

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On May 16, members of the Cornell community including President David Skorton gathered in Sage Chapel for an evening of remembrance honoring those who died in China after a powerful earthquake occurred in the Sichuan province. The 7.9-magnitude earthquake that took place on May 12 has since left 51,000 people dead, nearly 300,000 injured and over 29,000 missing. According to the Associated Press, the disaster also left 5 million people homeless and destroyed more than 80 percent of the buildings in some remote towns and villages.

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LGBT Advocacy: A 40 Year Tradition Continues

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In 1968, Cornell students created the Student Homophile League, making Cornell the second university in the country to have a gay student organization. In the past 40 years, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender activism at Cornell has continued to evolve and support the LGBT community.
An exhibit in Olin Library titled “Queer Cornell: LGBT student activism, 1968-2008” opened on April 11. It displays quarter cards, flyers and pictures chronicling LGBT activism on campus since the SHL was created in 1968.

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Plaque Marks Activism

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Members of the Cornell and Ithaca communities gathered yesterday afternoon to observe the dedication of a recently installed plaque commemorating the spot where the Redbud Woods once stood.
In July of 2005, the University had this patch of urban wildland, located near the intersection of University Avenue and Lake Street, leveled to make way for a 176-space parking lot as part of its West Campus Residential Initiative. The administration’s decision to pave over Redbud Woods was the cause of many well-publicized protests over a several year period by environmental activists including students and faculty.