Cornell College sophomores are putting citizenship into practice through their Second-Year Seminar (SYS) courses as they explore solutions to societal issues.
On Tuesday, Sept. 15, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., they will share research on a wide range of topics at the SYS Showcase. Campus and community members are invited to explore 13 poster exhibits throughout Thomas Commons and Cole Library.
“In Second-Year Seminars, students investigate real-world problems and issues through disciplinary or multidisciplinary approaches,” said Assistant Provost Devan Baty. “Students grapple with their role as citizens in addressing problems, combining intellectual inquiry with opportunities for hands-on learning and engagement.”
In the SYS course, Earth Resource Sustainability, Professor of Geology Emily Walsh challenges students to consider how their choices as citizens and consumers affect the environment and the use of natural resources. Each week of the block focuses on a different environmental topic: water, soil, energy, and rocks and minerals. Walsh says she wants students to walk away from this Block 1 course with an increased awareness.
“I want them to be aware that almost everything that they consume comes from the Earth, and it’s finite and mostly nonrenewable, at least not in our lifetimes,” Walsh said. “Plus, most of these issues are not clear-cut. Sustainability is a gray area. It’s big and complex and hard to navigate with so many different stakeholders. They have to figure out the puzzle of everything involved and use their liberal arts ability to talk with people and research topics to understand what’s best.”
Jacob Ternes '29, a sophomore from Marion, Iowa, is excited to dig into soil and explore its characteristics during week 2 of the class. Students are getting a better understanding of how land is a resource.
“It’s the base of everything,” Ternes said. “If you want to start building, if you want to start exploring, you have to look at the soil first before you do anything. So if the soil isn’t good, you can’t farm, you can’t build, you can’t do any of the things that humans rely on.”
The class is also going on a variety of field trips, which are easy to do on the One Course At A Time calendar. They’re visiting a local quarry, the Iowa Geological Survey, a power plant, and a local farm. The students are also working in groups to research and present on a sustainability topic they feel passionate about during the SYS Showcase on Sept. 15.
Sophomore Elias Notsch '29, a long-time Boy Scout from New Brighton, Minnesota, says he likes the citizenship aspect of the class and is looking forward to presenting his research with his partner, Mia Belitz '29.
“Mia and I are looking at—because she’s from Japan, they have an awesome system for public transportation,” Notsch said. “It’s to the point where there’s not much of a need to have your own car, and that creates a way more sustainable environment for them. It’s something that we could arguably try to do here, so we’re going to look at existing infrastructure in California and what would need to be added or changed to make it possible, and whether it would, in fact, be any more sustainable.”
From sustainability to politics and art history, a variety of topics will be on display at the showcase. The assistant provost says the event is a valuable learning opportunity for those presenting and those attending.
“Students gain practice communicating their ideas to others in ways that are accessible and engaging to people who may not have any background knowledge of their topics,” Baty said. “Members of the community who visit the showcase will come away with an appreciation of both the range of issues our students are exploring and the intellectual curiosity that characterizes the Second-Year Seminar experience. For first-year students in particular, the showcase offers them a glimpse of the kinds of projects they may encounter as they continue their education at Cornell.”
The Second-Year Seminar is part of Cornell’s Ingenuity core curriculum and is a course required for each sophomore.