There’s something inherently interesting about a secret. If someone goes to the trouble of hiding something, chances are that something is worth knowing. The Southwest is, of course, a place of many secrets, from the famous Area 51 to less secretive but lesser known testing sites for nuclear weapons. We managed to organize a visit to one such site, the Nuclear National Security Site, formerly known as the Nuclear Test Site.

Without giving away any sensitive details (for I fear they might otherwise have to make me disappear), the site is pretty much what you would expect and what’s displayed in the museum dedicated to it in Las Vegas. The area occupied by the site is littered with craters from underground nuclear tests, shells of damaged buildings and simulated infrastructure, and buildings housing various organizations and facilities for testing. Today no more nuclear weapons are tested there, but they still carry out tests on the cleanup of hazardous materials and serve as a location for testing by other organizations.

The site has an historic purpose, of course, and played a significant role in the development of nuclear weapons and our current knowledge of them, but it is equally interesting for its secretive nature. While I won’t get into discussions of how much right the government may or may not have to withhold information from its population, it cannot be denied that there’s a certain allure to that which we cannot know. Examples such as Area 51 are obvious, but there are subtler ones, as well. Scientific pursuits are, in a way, attempts to delve into what we humans do not understand and what piques our interest. Literature, both in the writing and in the reading, often seeks to communicate or reveal truths about humanity, inform the world on issues that are not at the surface of public discourse, or simply tell a story that intrigues and mystifies.

In a way, I suppose, this trip is intended to educate in an effort to reveal knowledge. In addition to the historically significant sites, even the landscape of the Southwest speaks to truths that lie just below the surface of the desert. We may not end up enlightened, but I think we will all walk away with a little more depth under our belts than we began with. All we have to do is look beyond the veils of time and sand.

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The land around Las Vegas is a place of harsh landscapes and inescapable nature. Dry brown dirt peppered with dark brown shrubberies serves as a constant reminder that this is not a place where the forces of nature are to be taken lightly. Looking out of the window of our Benton van, I am forced to imagine how little chance I would have of surviving out here were it not for the efforts of the people who wrangled the arid wasteland and decked it out in lights and roads and secretive government testing sites. On the subject of wrangling of the forces of nature to bend them to the needs of humans, enter the Hoover Dam.

The Hoover Dam is, it has to be said, an awe-inspiring sight. It is a hulking mass of concrete crowned with Art Deco architecture and a hint of that good old public works flair of steel and glass. It may not be the most logistically noteworthy or artistically interest-piquing construction in the world, but it’s certainly impressive enough to be worth a visit.

I suppose that a common thread running through this trip is that of humans harnessing natural forces to various ends. Be it destruction in the form of nuclear weapons or power generation in the form of dams, it strikes me as interesting that, in this inhospitable place of such severe nature, there would be so much effort to exploit them. Perhaps it’s a reflection on the kind of person who is attracted to this environment, or perhaps it’s a matter of harnessing forces being all the more productive if those forces are strong, but raw power seems to emanate from the very ground here.

If nothing else, Hoover Dam is a testament to the capacity of humans to follow through on ambitious aspirations. Maybe part of the reason for visiting it is that it’s reassuring to see something that was built by human hands holding back something so persistent and massive as a river. In times where we feel as though life is difficult and progress seems like a mirage in the ever-farther distance of a desert, maybe it’s comforting to be reminded that we can accomplish things. And yet, perhaps it’s telling that we are able to construct walls of concrete to hold back the tides of the Colorado River but still struggle to achieve tangible and significant-feeling results in the fight against some global and social issues. Concrete and duct tape can only do so much, after all.

The introduction of the presence of nuclear weapons testing in the same setting into this line of thought is interesting. I will leave conclusions and statements to others, but I find it interesting to think of nuclear weapons as being, in a way, an attempt to make a foreign policy Hoover Dam, that is a project of massive scale, engineering, and power designed to hold back a force that both frightens and fascinates us. Make what you will of this thought, but it cannot be denied that the Southwest is a place in which human striving and natural forces mingle with results worthy and, indeed, demanding of our attention as spectators and participants in this world of ours.

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Meagre belongings packed into travel-sized bags: Check. Entertainment options for the trip: Check. Everything laid out ready for the morning: Check. Sense of adventure: Need it be said? Check.

As I prepare for my trip to the Southwest, I cannot help but wonder why exactly it is that I feel the need to go. I look forward to enjoying the company of my fellow Bentons, of course, but I can do that anywhere. Why go to all the trouble of travelling across the country? The question to which I seek an answer can be broadened to the following: Why is it that, despite knowing that things exist, despite having an idea of what they are, despite having seen and heard and read about them, we feel the need to actually go to them? What makes the experience so much more valuable?

I think that it is fair to say that I know more than most about the atomic bomb-related sites and sights to see in the south-western U.S. Having spent a semester becoming familiar – at times, perhaps, more familiar than I ever thought necessary – with the history and science of the first atomic bomb project, I know what to expect when it comes to testing sites and research facilities. You show me some radioactive material, and there’s a good chance I can tell you what shape it should be in to make it go boom. I’ve seen pictures of compounds, laboratories, tests, craters, and bombs. What more could there be to gain from seeing a large semi-circular hole in the ground in person than on film?

I’m no philosopher, nor am I a trained psychologist or sociologist, but I would hazard a guess that it has something to do with a feeling of history and tangibility. At the risk of sounding overly romantic, I think that there’s a sense you get when you’re in a place of what happened there that you simply cannot get from a photograph. We have all seen pictures of WWII battlefields, but it’s something entirely different to stand in the trenches, looking out over a dew-tipped field as grey light filters through the remaining wisps of cloud and the calls of birds are carried on the wind as they scour the mud for worms drawn out by the recent rain. In such a position, one can almost see through the eyes of a soldier as he squints into the distance, searching for the glint of a gun barrel across the field. Though it might not be as tense a situation or as striking a location, I suspect that there is a similar sense of seeing through the eyes of those who were at these tests and in these laboratories over 70 years ago as they turned blackboard scrawlings into the most destructive weapons the world had ever seen. It is also easy to forget that, for many of the scientists, engineers, and military personnel at these facilities, the development of nuclear weapons felt as much like a head-to-head battle against the forces of evil as it did for the soldiers on the front lines- in the sense that, for much of the period of the development of the first atomic bombs, the military and government were very much conscious that just such a development could be in progress in Germany or Japan. To be in the laboratories and to witness the craters, then, is to some extent to stand in their places and, if not to share their uncertainty of what its results would be, then at least to share their marvel at the power of this step in human capacity and knowledge.

There is also, I think,  a sense of a lack of scale inherent in photographs and written accounts. They say that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but the Los Alamos facilities seemed to have been built just about that quickly (and, it seems relevant to point out, the technology that was unleashed in their rooms is capable of destroying Rome in mere fractions of a second). It is difficult to wrap one’s head around the real magnitude of certain things until one sees them. Just as a symphony cannot be described in mere words, a nuclear testing site cannot be described in mere images, and the magnitude of a nuclear detonation cannot be described in mere numbers. It is necessary to see in person to understand.

And so, in the interest of taking in all that the world and the wonders of human enterprise have to show us, no matter what form they may take, we adventurous folk set out for lands yet unknown to us. Some say that the journey is more important than the destination. With fourteen hours of bus and airplane travel ahead, I find it difficult to take that stance, but perhaps the expression refers rather to the journey of life as a whole. If that is the case, then I am certainly looking forward to my journey through the atomic history of the American Southwest.

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Week 6 Prompt: Art

What is art? Must it be beautiful? Does it require basic geometrical considerations, like symmetry and proportion? Does art, by definition, require skill to produce — or can art be made by chance? Can ordinary objects — like a chair or a urinal — be considered art? Can art be virtual: a video game? The answer to each of these questions is likely to be “yes,” depending on whom you ask. Indeed, to the extent “art” exists as a discrete and definable idea, perhaps the most we can say is that it refers to a thing or practice that gives meaning to our lives — or even, as in conceptual art, an idea that challenges us to engage more thoughtfully with the world surrounding us. But there are also times when non-Art is defined explicitly, usually when it doesn’t conform to rigid, ideologically-defined aesthetic standards. In recent years, critics have questioned the value of art that explores controversial subjects, makes use of bodily fluids, depicts the erotic, or that puts dead bodies on display. Which is to say: the cultural and conceptual contours defining art are by no means universal. This week, give some thought to art and how it’s defined in the society surrounding you. Are people open minded about art, or do they stick to the Old Masters? Is artwork publicly accessible? Are there any art museums nearby? Can art be found in public places, like parks? Is there any “functional” art, or even “propaganda” art? Take a picture of an art museum or a work of public art, then talk about art culture as you’ve observed it so far.

Ryan Hildebrandt

Art in Japan is everywhere. From small museums you can find down side streets, to the sprawling public parks, to just about every temple and shrine you can find (and there are a lot of them, trust me), art pervades every aspect of Japanese life and living in Japan. In addition to paintings and sculptures that adorn the walls of shrines and stand in many parks, perhaps the most immersive form of art you can find in Japan is landscape and garden art. Especially in cities like Kyoto, houses on city streets often featured a composed and meticulously composed garden towards the back of the house. Gardens are also prominent in the Imperial Palace, where a large portion of the complex is devoted to mossy gardens with towering pine, maple, and cherry trees. Most of these gardens are designed to be walked through or observed from a deck or bench, and different perspectives on the garden give entirely different experiences for the same space. Other common elements are stone lanterns and bridges, ground-covering moss, ponds with stepping stones, fountains, and sculptures often seated on the surface of the water. For some residential gardens, small tea houses or pavilions are common, often placed in the garden for an ideal view. This picture is from a temple and garden complex in Kobe, Sourakuen.

Mallory Keller

As an art history major, Florence was a dream. There is so much culture crammed into the city and it truly was the heart of the Italian Renaissance, which is centered around the ‘Old Masters’ of art. Three of the four classes I took were centered around art history and architecture and almost every one of my classes entailed a site visit to a museum or church where there were works of art. There is modern art in Italy, but I only went to one modern art museum in Italy, the Peggy Guggenheim museum in Venice. The focus is greater on the Old Masters of art, like da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian, Raphael, Bellini, Bronzino, Vasari, etc. It makes sense since so many of them have ties to Florence, through the schools they attended or it was the home of their patrons (ex. the Medici family that built Florence), they are ingrained into the culture of the city. But beyond that, it is about the money these works of art bring to the city. Tourists come to Florence to see the great works of art. There are art museums all over and most of them charge admission (on the first Sunday of the month state museums are free, but then you have to fight insane crowds). In every store you can buy almost anything with a reference to a famous work of art. I saw the Mona Lisa on so many things all over the place and it is not even in Italy!

I learned to deal with the commodification of Old Masters work because i was able to see incredible works of art. While you did have to pay to get into museums, the Uffizi is only 8 euros, which is not much considering how many works of art are in there. I went five times and was even able to go to Vasari’s Corridor with my school, which is an incredible collection of artist’s self portraits that is closed to the general public. There are so many free walking tours available online to see awesome works of art that are scattered throughout the city. Many churches are free or accept a small donation and have incredible works of art inside, like the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari church in Venice. For 3 euros, you can see incredible altarpieces by Titian and Bellini along with other amazing works of art. While I do appreciate modern art, it is incredible to me that artists were able to create these works of art with such skill 500 years ago. I had so much more to say about this post, but decided to keep it relatively short. But if anyone wants to reach out, I am always willing to talk about art.

Danielle Norgren

Often, art is defined as an act of creation. Thus, a work’s value becomes intrinsically linked to its complexity. I myself used to have this perspective, which lends a sort of cynicism towards certain works of modern art. Walking through contemporary art museums I often hear scoffs of, “I could have done this myself.” After spending time exploring art history in France, however, my perspective has greatly changed. My respect for non-conventional works of art has grown immensely.

http://staff.washington.edu/schenold/engl282/images/fountain.jpg

I think the most striking challenge to arguably conventional perceptions of art come in the form of “readymades,” a movement perfected by Marcel Duchamp. Readymades consist of relatively mundane unaltered subjects, i.e. a bottle rack. Duchamp’s most infamous work is “Fountain,” a urinal signed R.L. Mutt. I was able to view a replica of this piece in Nice. This work finds its fame not necessarily in its construction, but perhaps in its backstory. Duchamp tried to submit his work to the Society of Independent Artists, a society which was bound by its constitution to accept all members’ submissions. However, they took acceptation to Duchamp’s work, deeming it “a piece of sanitary ware – and one associated with bodily waste – [which] could not be considered a work of art and furthermore was indecent (presumably, although this was not said, if displayed to women).” Duchamp resigned in protest, frustrated by the board’s attempts to censor an artist. Duchamp was attempting to test the limits of new conceptions of art. Perhaps if he had used his own name to sign the work, the response would have been different as he was a respected and acknowledged artist.

With readymades, it can be argued that there has been no act of creation. As such, they cannot be labeled as art. For me, however, readymade art is particularly poignant. Readymades take every day objects and allow the viewer the chance to view them in a different light. I view art as any work that offers a change in perspective. To force oneself to view an object, a scene, an event, through the eyes of the artist.

Allison Zengilowski

Over Easter weekend, a few friends and I decided to trek to Melbourne (pronounced Melbin) to explore the area. This is a much more populous area than Wollongong, and we ended up staying in a hostel rather close to the National Gallery of Victoria, the Australian Centre of the Moving Image, and several other public art venues. Although the collections housed in the galleries were beautiful, I was most drawn to the art lining the buildings on Hosier Lane. This street has been deemed as a space where street artists can go to display and practice their art. The works ranged from full murals to small phrases, yet it was very easy to see the signature traits of various artists.

While we were meandering through the street, there were three artists working. Seeing the people behind the images while also noting how layered the walls were was a rather memorable experience. The street is constantly changing due to different artists coming in and leaving their mark. Therefore, Hosier Lane will almost certainly never look the same as it did when we were observing it.

Personally, I appreciated how alive the art was. There were no restrictions or limitations to what one could place on the wall, and although most artists use the same materials, their techniques and signatures vary. We were not guided on where to look, rather, it felt like a little scavenger hunt trying to find all of the different images, texts, and tactile pieces interwoven throughout the brick walls.

As of now, I have noted that Australia does have an appreciation for art and has exquisite collections in galleries. However, what I find to be the strongest installations are those that exist outside of the confines of buildings. Street art is most certainly one medium for this, but there are also art installations in public parks, on hikes, woven within architecture in cities, truly, the locations are endless. Melbourne, being located in an urban setting, brings art into any and all spaces it can.

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Week 2 Prompt: Airplanes

For some people, flying on airplanes is a fun (albeit expensive) hobby; for others, it’s part of their job — as pilots, flight attendants, or business people traveling for work. But a small number of people rely on aviation as a lifeline: “bush pilots” bring food and supplies to remote areas of the globe, including parts of Alaska. This week, turn your eyes to the sky. Is aviation a novelty or a necessity? Do people travel for fun or only when necessary? Does air transportation have a good reputation, or are people skeptical of its safety, efficiency, and reliability? Take a picture of an airplane, airport, landing strip, or some other aviation-related aspect of the culture surrounding you.

Ryan Hildebrandt ’17, Psychology and Japanese

Aviation isn’t a huge part of everyday Japanese life. Unless you’re flying between two cities that are very, very far apart within Japan, most airports are used for international travel. The vast majority of domestic travel is done via ferry, car, and especially train. Because of this, most exposure to Japanese airlines comes in getting to and from the country, and isn’t a prominent means of travel once you’re in the country. There isn’t much of a domestic air-travel industry to speak of, or at least what is there isn’t frequented unless you’re traveling clear across the country and need to do it quicker than a train. Instead, the experience of going to an airport with your ticket in hand, checking luggage, finding your terminal, and jumping on a very fast and efficient means of transportation has been largely replaced with the train system and Shinkansen bullet train. As we used this much more than planes while in Japan (one flight in, one out), here’s a fuzzy picture of Mount Fuji from my plane on my way home at the last possible moment.

Mallory Keller ’17, Art History and Educational Studies

When studying abroad, you are encouraged to travel to other countries. Because of how south Italy is in Europe, while traveling by train may be cheaper, air transportation is much more time efficient. I am constantly surrounded by fellow students conversing about planning travel for weekends and which airline is better. I found that Europe is full of budget airlines that makes travel fairly cheap. Some Americans are skeptical of budget airlines, but I have found that if you read the fine print and follow their rules, you will not have any problems. From some very negative experiences with some prominent airlines in America that I will leave unnamed in this post, I would fly European budget airlines over them anyday. My experience in flying from Pisa to London on what is known as a budget airline was awesome. I had none of those terrible horror stories you hear off, it was so efficient, and my flight was only $60 round trip.

Picture courtesy of: http://andreas.scherbaum.la/blog/archives/470-A-sunday-in-Tuscany.html

The one thing I have noticed about many European airports is that they are much smaller than American airports, which I enjoy. While there are some duty free shops, I don’t have to walk through what sometimes seems like malls within American airports. Security was fast, efficient, and I never felt unsafe traveling through the airports. When my roommate and I were booking our taxi to the Florence airport when we were leaving for the semester, my host mom was confused as to why we were calling it two hours before our flight. She said we only needed thirty minutes and she ended up being correct! We sat in the pretty empty Florence airport for an hour and a half before our flight. The one thing I do miss about being abroad is the ease of travel.

Zachary Weaver ’17 

Airplanes are a fact of life in Europe. Since the introduction of the European Union and common currency, more and more businesses have offices and work in different countries. Countries in the European Union have made travel extremely easy for citizens of fellow members, and air travel is no different.

However, aside from international travel, planes aren’t used as much as trains are in the United Kingdom. It is often easier and cheaper to take a train from one end of the country to another rather than planes. This is in large part due to the extensiveness of the train network in the UK, but many areas do have their own airport or airfield.

Cardiff itself is a small city when compared to places such as London or Paris, yet there are quite a few businessmen who use air travel to get to Cardiff on a weekly basis. On my flight from Amsterdam to Cardiff on my way to the country, most of the plane was made of Dutch businessmen who had work in Cardiff that day or week.

Cardiff Airport Departure Gate, the closest airport to Cardiff University, is small and useful for traveling to a handful of locations in Europe. Going to London for longer flights is common. Photo from http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/11769628._Has_Cardiff_Airport_buy_out_been_worth_it___AMs_will_ask_today/

Air travel itself is quite common amongst students at Cardiff, especially those of us from Colgate who are studying here! The Cardiff Airport is often used as a springboard to bigger airports, from which a flight to most of Europe can be reached. Several people already have plans to fly to mainland Europe at some point in the semester, with Amsterdam, Barcelona, and the Swiss Alps being popular destinations.

Getting to an airport is easy enough from Cardiff. One can either take a taxi to Cardiff Airport, or jump on one of several buses or trains to London and use Heathrow or Gatwick Airports for better service to more areas of Europe.

My time in Cardiff Airport was pretty easy. Being a small airport, the service was much more personable than customs and immigration in some larger airports. Plus, once I made it through all my bags were already on the luggage belt, so I didn’t have to wait at all!

Grace Western

Upon arrival in Cameroon, I looked at the small airport of Yaoundé: the 1970’s style resonating from the structure of the building to the colors, and I knew I was in for a very different (due to my western perception), but just as wonderful, experience. The airport was packed with people with signs and men trying to carry belongings for you to your car. Within the first 10 minutes of stepping into Cameroon, I noticed that many people were friendly and willing to help, despite me standing out as one of the 3 white people in the airport. What was also very interesting is that many people who were waiting past the baggage claim were trying to sell things: it was like another market! After I found the man who represented my organization, we went outside. There was so much dancing, laughing and music happening in the street and it seemed to be a joyous occasion. I thought, “what an incredible way to arrive in a new country!” I asked the man I was with what the occasion was, and he said there was none and it was normal. Clearly within my first moments in Cameroon I had already exerted my bias and failed to check my white, American perception of culture. No doubt, even when I think I am checking my privilege, and myself, I’m sure I am not completely and so I need to continue to be aware of that, especially while writing these blog posts.

Allison Zengilowski

Air transportation appears to have a rather good reputation, and traveling, especially within Australia, is extremely efficient. Traveling domestically comes with much more relaxed security procedures and timely boarding and deplaning. When returning from Melbourne, it took my friends and I 15 minutes to land, deplane, and get to the train to take us back to the university. As a student on exchange here, I would say we travel for fun much more frequently than the typical citizen. Although there is a great deal to see and do regionally that can be accessed via car or public transport, Australia is still roughly the size of the United States. Therefore, in order to get to the other coast, it takes about the same amount of time as flying from New York to Los Angeles. So flying can be a necessity, but at least from the tourist perspective, flying is a leisurely adventure.

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Infusing leadership and global themes into the Colgate University experience, the Benton Scholars program creates an educational environment that asks students to adopt an informed and critical view of emerging political, cultural, environmental, and economic issues. Just as importantly, scholars are expected to be outwardly focused: to share their insights with people on campus and throughout the global community.

Like many Colgate students, Benton Scholars often choose to study off-campus during their junior year. Unlike others, however, they are expected to stay connected to the program and each other while abroad–sharing their insights, collaborating from different points on the globe–with the goal of bringing different cultural and geo-political perspectives to bear on shared problems.

The Benton Scholars: Abroad blog functions as the locus for this collaboration. Each Monday during the spring semester, students will be sent a brief topic, idea, or problem, one that has resonance throughout the world. Students are then asked to submit a response–preferably a picture, video, or brief essay–which will then be published on this site. Responses need not be obvious: they can be creative, insightful, even clever interpretations of each week’s theme.

Entering its third year, we hope The Benton Scholars: Abroad blog will provide unique insight into topics of discussion and issues of concern that we all share in common.

This year’s contributors are immersed in different countries around the world, from Australia to England. Their profiles below:

Taylor Mooney ’17

Hi, friends!  I am a geology major from a lil’ ol’ town called Lowville in Upstate New York who consistently responds to the nickname “Princess,” and I am so incredibly excited to make memories in Wollongong, Australia this semester.  I’m tremendously grateful to Colgate and my parents for allowing me this mind-blowing opportunity, and I can’t wait to share my experiences with all of you!  An early thank you to all of those who follow this blog… let the shenanigans ensue!

Allison Zengilowski ’17

My name is Allison Zengilowski and I am a double major in Psychology and Peace and Conflict Studies from Hinesburg, Vermont.  I’ll be spending my semester in Wollongong, Australia as part of one of Colgate’s Natural Sciences programs.  While there I’ll have the opportunity to volunteer in a Psychology lab, study Australia’s biodiversity, and see a completely different set of stars (since I’ll be in the southern hemisphere!).

Ryan Hildebrandt ’17

I’m Ryan and I’m from Cape May, New Jersey.  I’m a Junior currently studying Japanese and Psychology, and I studied abroad first semester sophomore year in Kyoto, Japan.  It was a wonderful semester that helped me understand Japanese language and culture in a much deeper way than I was able to before, and I can’t wait to go back to the city I think of as my second home, Kyoto.

Danielle Norgren ’18

My name is Danielle Norgren.  I grew up in Seattle but attended high school in New Hampshire and France. At Colgate, I am a French and International Relations double major.  In my free time, I am on the rowing team and also tutor French at Hamilton Central School. I will be spending my sophomore spring abroad, in Dijon.

Erin Huiting ’17

I consider Evergreen, Colorado home, a small mountain town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.  However, I love to travel and will be studying biomedical sciences at Oxford (England) this spring, and biomedicine at the National Institute of Health ( Washington, DC) this fall. I’m majoring in Molecular Biology, and I hope to pursue a career in immunogenetics.

Mallory Keller ’17

Hi everyone! My name is Mallory Keller and I am a junior at Colgate University. I’m originally from Kansas City, Missouri and I spent the fall semester of my junior year in Florence, Italy. As an art history and educational studies double major, I spent my entire semester geeking out at pictures on walls and dragging everyone I know to museums and churches. When I was not staring at artwork, I was eating my way through Italy.

Sidhant (Sid) Wadhera ’17

Sid Wadhera, or Sidward as he is affectionately called, will be spending the first 5 months of 2016 not on the North American continent.  The first 13 days will be spent in Chile, climbing up and studying volcanoes with the esteemed professor Karen Harpp.  The rest of his time will be spent in London (mostly) studying Economics with Professor Don Waldman.  Sid thoroughly enjoys blathering incessantly about topics and drawing erroneous conclusions from those topics; he also enjoys tangential ramblings.  Essentially, TBS Abroad project is a perfect match for him.  For more about his travel, visit his blog volcanicteatime.tumblr.com

Grace Western ’17

I am a junior at Colgate with a double major in Women’s Studies and Political Science.  I am very involved with the Student Government Association — my most recent position being Speaker of the Senate.  I am also a Community Leader, a member of FUSE Dance Company, an Illustrator at Admissions, and part of the Association of Critical Collegians.  Last year, I was Assistant Director of the Vagina Monologues and also participated in Spaces Between Us: a movement piece to challenge structural oppression at Colgate.  I am studying abroad in Cameroon with a focus on Social Pluralism and Development.  Specifically we will be critiquing the narratives of development and who is “developed.”  I look forward to interacting with the Benton Community, and the larger Colgate community, through my learning and reflection process abroad!  It’ll be a nice change to escape the winter tundra of Hamilton for warm, 70 degree weather!

Laine Barrand ’17

Laine Barrand, from Southern California, is an Undergraduate student in Junior standing at Colgate University. She is studying International Relations and French. Laine is involved with music on campus and in the community; she plays viola in Colgate University Orchestra and Chamber Players, works for the Music Department and interns at the Hamilton Center for the Arts and the Broad Street Gallery. Laine also works sound equipment during various events on campus and hosts a weekly radio show called Biannual Sunflower Festival, during which she plays a variety of genres including indie, alternative, and psychedelic rock. Laine loves to snowboard and travel.

Quanzhi (Q) Guo ’18

Currently wandering in Wales, originally from China, and shaped by Singapore.  Cold-bloodedly rational yet helplessly whimsical.  Trying to major in something but has never been able to make up my mind.  Interestingly self-contradictory and unexpectedly predictable to similar souls.

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In the blog series XYZ with Q, Quanzhi “Q” Guo ’18 visits current and former Benton Scholars to learn about their interests, passions, and accomplishments. In the fourth installment of the series, Q makes pumpkin cream bread with Oneida Shushe ’19 and Meghan Byrnes ’19, who are involved with BreadX, one of the first-ever free online course designed by students for students.

Running the Benton test kitchen

One tablespoon science, one pinch cultural perspective, and two cups current issues yield batches of fun.

BreadX: From Ground to Global, one of the first-ever free online courses designed by students for students, is going live on the edX Edge platform on November 15, 2015. (Registration is open.) To get a taste of the course and preserve some fall flavors, I joined Benton Scholars Meghan Byrnes ’19 and Oneida Shushe ‘19 in the kitchen as they prepared pumpkin cheese bread.

Born in Albania and raised in Albany, NY, Oneida’s all-time favorite food is homemade white bread—the kind with a satisfying chewy crust and a soft texture on the inside. Under her instruction, I poured pumpkin purée into a mixing bowl while Meghan, a club-volleyball player from Syracuse, beat the cream cheese together with flour, sugar, and eggs.

This semester, both of them are enrolled in the Benton Scholars’ first-year seminar called Emerging Global Challenges. Developing the course has been an adventure. Working in five groups, each of the fourteen Benton Scholars has conducted research in a specific topic area, produced videos, and designed questions and activities pitched primarily for middle school-aged students, but appropriate for all ages.

“Before choosing the topic, we gave presentations on global issues we are passionate about, including the poverty cycle, global food supplies, industrial farming, water supplies, gender roles, and global warming. Then we realized that all of these challenges could be explored through the lens of bread,” Oneida said.

The class is primarily project-based. Groups meet twice a week during class seminars to update each other on progress and modify the project’s direction. “I have never taken a class that is so heavily student-run before,” Meghan said as she spooned the cream cheese batter on the pumpkin layer. Her role in the project is to construct the subtopic “Bread Distribution,” which explores bread’s environmental and socio-economic impacts. As a member of the educational structure group, Megan also ensures the logical flow and unity of the course.

BreadX is designed to run for ten days. During each chapter, registered students will conduct their own research and lab experiments at home, do short readings, watch interesting video lectures (many made by the students), complete comprehension questions, and participate in a wide variety of online discussions.

“We want to get students engaged and interested with the material and connected to their fellow students,” Meghan said. “Activities are to get students really work with the material rather than just watching the videos online. We also encourage students to go out and explore the relevance of issues we talk about in their own towns.”

“We are not only spreading knowledge, but also encouraging participants to think about how they can apply what they learn in our course to the real world, which is a very valuable skill.” Oneida said.

As we waited for our bread to rise, I thought about Thoreau, who held a daily ritual of baking over an outdoor fire in Walden: “to affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of the arts.” It seems cool to make and eat bread for a class, but being able to shape an emerging technology and pedagogy, like the edX platform, is even cooler.

Associate Professor of Geology Karen Harpp who teaches the class envisions the course as a community experiment in global online course development. “We are asking everyone who participates (online) to become an active collaborator by giving us feedback about the course, after each lesson. We want to know how we might improve the educational activities and how we can make the experience more dynamic and effective next time around,” she said. “With this highly interactive and student-centered design, we want to push the frontiers of online education both for the students in the classroom and for the participants beyond the institution.”

In the spring of 2015, I took her popular class for students and alumni—the Advent of the Atomic Bomb. Through video presentations (called fireside chats), discussion forums, video conference calls, a Twitter role-play project re-enacting the war in “real time,” and a trip to Japan, we explored the history, science, and ethics behind the decision to drop the A-bomb. Colgate alumni were integrated with the students in the course through online technology on the edX platform.

Rather than replacing the physical classroom, as most MOOCs(Massive Open Online Courses) do, Karen has been using technology to enhance in-person learning. “This course is about getting students to think innovatively, explore how we learn and how we can learn better, figure out how to reach people beyond the classroom, and try to make a positive impact on the world, all of which are made possible by going online,” Karen said.

To spread their aspiration to think globally and act locally, the Benton Scholars are reaching out both to local schools, including the Hamilton Central School, and to schools back home. “Our goal is to make more people aware of the global challenges our world is facing today. We explain what people can do on a local level throughout the course to encourage activism in local communities,” Meghan said.

With a sweet aroma wafting out of the oven, and the course launch date in sight, I asked my baking mates what they’ve learned so far.

“I think it teaches us a lot of skills that we will use later in life, no matter what we do,” Meghan said as she slid out a tray of golden pumpkin-ey loaves.

“The project has definitely made me more appreciative of the arts of video making, graphic design, communication, and teaching,” Oneida added.

From the first unleavened breads around 30,000 years ago, to the loaves of pumpkin bread I was cutting, bread has evolved with human civilization. Despite its various forms and the modern assault on carbs, it has remained the most widely consumed food—a comfort for both heart and soul. Since the emergence of massive online courses in 2012, I have witnessed and experienced many ideas and innovations in higher education. From Minerva, which strips away brick-and-mortar classrooms, to the SPOCs (Small Private Online Courses) Colgate has developed, each model has its own niche and potential. Perhaps we just need the patience and self-assuredness for it to “cook” and “cool”. As I finally devoured my moist and scrumptious bread, I was convinced that BreadX will have a delicious impact.

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Prior to the advent of jet travel during the 1960s, and the subsequent deregulation of airline pricing schemes in the 1980s, trains were a common mode of transportation in the United States. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (part of the U.S. Department of Transportation), air travel accounted for 576 million passenger miles in 2012, with intercity trains, including Amtrak, accounting for only about 7 million. By comparison, in 1960, the numbers were much closer: air travel saw 31 million passenger miles, with intercity trains at 17 million — a difference that conceals the greater distances typically traveled by aircraft. But America’s clear preference for aviation is by no means shared globally. In other parts of the world — India, China, and the EU especially — train travel is extremely common, even prevalent. This week, pay attention to trains. Does your current city connect to a rail system? Do people travel by train, subway, streetcar, or commuter service? Where is the nearest station? Take a picture of the station, then comment on the role of train travel in your local community.

Ryan Hildebrandt ’17, Psychology & Japanese

Ladies and Gentlemen, here, for your viewing pleasure, is the world-famous Shinkansen (bullet train). This particular train runs between most of Japan’s major cities, and we used it to get from Tokyo to Kyoto, primarily. The Shinkansen is different from most other trains because it feels more like a flight than public transportation. You arrive at your terminal and gate with your luggage, board and depart on a strict schedule, and the ride is just as smooth as a cruising aircraft. But on a more daily scale, trains are everywhere in Japan, they’ll take you in between cities and towns and get you around once you’re in the city. From single car trams up mountainsides, to underground behemoths like the above, to your average subway systems, trains form a vital part of Japanese daily life, and they keep cities and indeed the whole country running smoothly with their legendary punctuality.

The famous Japanese bullet train, the Shinkansen

Adam Basciano ’16, International Relations

Jerusalem is a very, very hilly city. That is why it has taken the city more than three-thousand years to get its first light rail system. Freshly inaugurated just a few years ago, the Jerusalem light rail runs from the north eastern tip of the city to its south western hill on Mt. Herzl. It connects Arab neighborhoods and Jewish settlements from East Jerusalem with tourist areas and historical sites in the city center. The light rail, like most things in Jerusalem, is intertwined in the complexity of the city’s politics. Where the picture below is taken, the Ammunition Hill light rail stop, is the site of a terrorist attack from December of 2014 that garnered much international attention. A Palestinian driver rammed his car into people waiting for a bus, injuring many and killing a baby girl. The city put in both concrete and metal barriers to all light rail stops as a result of the terror attack. Despite the terror attack from December, many citizens of Jerusalem, both Jewish and Muslim alike, continue to take the light rail each day. The sophisticated bus system, however, is frequented more often as it reaches many more neighborhoods hidden throughout the hills of the city.

A light rail stop in Jerusalem

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The supermarket is in many ways an anomaly in human history. Except for the last 100 years, people living in Western cultures have either grown their own food or purchased it at a local grocer’s or merchant’s shop. During the early 20th century, self-service grocery stores emerged as a way for store owners to save on labor costs while reducing prices — with the hope of attracting cost-conscious consumers from miles around. Kroger, Safeway, and other supermarket chains soon proliferated throughout the urban and suburban landscape. However, the recent farm-to-table movement — inspired partly by writers like Wendell Berry and Michael Pollan — has started to reverse this trend. In many cities, both large and small, walkable farmer’s markets now occupy public parks and parking lots each weekend, making it possible for people to buy food, supplies, and craft goods directly from the source, often at premium prices. This week, pay attention to how people shop for food. Are supermarkets common? Do people shop at local markets? Do they have large backyard gardens? Take a picture of a grocery store or supermarket where you shop, then tell us about local food culture.

Ryan Hildebrandt ’17, Psychology & Japanese

A covered street market in Japan

Supermarkets are definitely a staple in Japan. From a Walmart-sized market like Seiyu to a smaller greengrocer on the corners of Karasumadori, the full range of grocery stores can be found almost anywhere in Japan, especially the cities. But what I found to be a much more involved and bountiful shopping experience were covered, street-long markets selling everything from flavored honeys at premium prices to produce and seafood. I found them in almost every city we visited, and they were almost always shoulder to shoulder packed with shoppers and tourists. The food was fresh, especially street-food like yaki-tori and konnyaku, the vendors were loud and the smells were… interesting. There were plenty of foods which I’d never had before, and after having been to a few of these market streets, there are many foods I can say I’ve had and would have again. Pretty cheap, too.

Adam Basciano ’16, International Relations

If you’re living in Jerusalem, you’d be foolish to not purchase your groceries at the famous local shuk (market) known as Mahane Yehuda. The shuk has the best and cheapest groceries, from fruits and veggies to nuts and candy. It is on almost every tourist’s itinerary because of how cool and fun the vibes are. It is open all week except for during Shabbat, so if you go anytime on Friday early afternoon, you will for sure get caught up in the pre-weekend crowds. Supermarkets do exist throughout the Jerusalem and are frequented often by people, but Mahane Yehuda is the way to go when grocery shopping in Jerusalem.

A local shuk named Mahane Yehuda

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