Not Everyone Can Be “Beautiful”
The idea that everyone can be beautiful is directly against the definition of beauty:
c.1275, from Anglo-Norm. beute, from O.Fr. bealte, earlier beltet, from V.L. bellitatem “state of being handsome,” from L. bellus “fine, beautiful,” in classical L. used especially of women and children, or ironically or insultingly of men. Famously defined by Stendhal as la promesse de bonheur “the promise of happiness.”
For there to be an idea of beauty there has to be an idea of ugly. The distribution of “beautiful people” in the world is probably Gaussian normal. Most people are of average beauty, while some are exceedingly beautiful, and some are quite compellingly ugly. To say that all are beautiful is to redefine the word in such a way that it has no distinguishing meaning, because no matter whom it is applied to, it has the same meaning. Thus, it becomes not an adjective, but a participle. Meaningless.
I write this in academic protest of the “True Beauty” exhibit in Willard Straight Hall which will be showing shortly. You can go read Jenna’s announcement, but the summary is:
We’re promoting positive self-image among women at Cornell with one message: you’re beautiful.
Practically, if you look at a photo of two people like the below, won’t you agree that one is more beautiful than the other?
True, this example is just physical beauty. But the same rule applies even for mental beauty, or beauty of the soul.
Cornell University Spa Association
There’s a new club in town, and it’s all about Spas:
CUSPA’s (Cornell University Spa Association) mission is to create a high quality student organization that fosters education and awareness amongst Cornell students about the spa industry. CUSPA aims to act as a link between professionals of the spa industry and students, as well as sponsor forums, workshops and lectures in the Cornell community. CUSPA will supply students with the tools and knowledge necessary to become future leaders in the global spa industry.
Humans v.s. Zombies
In case you haven’t heard, a giant game of Zombies v.s. Humans is going on at Cornell University right now. If you see students running around with NERF guns in hand and blue bandanas tied to a thigh, you’ve just met a member of the human resistance (probably fleeing zombies). If they’re wearing a blue bandana on their head, look pale and ill, and walk with a peculiar lurch after the human resistance members, they’re definitely zombies.
Right now, I’m well and alive, but that could all change. Currently, out of about 150 players, 20 are zombies. You can follow a graph of their kills, too, if you’re interested:
The resources of interest in this game are as follows:
Update
Apparently some of the CU administration have decided that we need to register as an official ZvH organization to play at Cornell. This doesn’t seem reasonable, as we don’t want any official funding or sponsorship. As individuals, we should be able to conduct whatever form of group association we please. Why not call it the religion of ZvH instead? Then we’d be allowed. Or we could claim new races and persecution thereof…
