NOTE: During this time of social distancing and university life interrupted by the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Chronicle’s virtual Things to Do provides a variety of opportunities to engage with Cornell resources and programming. See the University Events Calendar for updates.

 

Celebrating cheese

In honor of National Cheese Month, the Cornell Milk Quality Improvement Program and the Graduate Wine Society are hosting a series of interactive virtual tastings featuring New York state cheese and wine.

Every Friday in May at 5:30 p.m., Cornell experts will discuss a cheese and wine pairing highlighting New York state products. They’ll introduce each selection, describe what to look for when tasting the products and guide participants through tasting their own selections. Register for the Zoom events.

Participants can choose their own favorite brands of the wine and cheese types of the week, share feedback about their chosen pairing, ask questions of the experts and share recommendations with others.

The tastings will feature New York sheep and goat cheeses with sparkling wines, May 15; New York bleu cheese, ice wines or port-style wines, May 22; and Alpine and European-style cheeses with New York dry wines such as Riesling, pinot noir, oaked chardonnay and Meritage, May 29.

Also: 2020 Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year and Brooklyn Brewery co-founder Steve Hindy ’71, MAT ’73, hosts a live beer tasting and chat, May 19 at 4 p.m. The barstool chat is moderated by Zach Shulman ’87, J.D. ’90, director of Entrepreneurship at Cornell.

International student survey

Cornell’s International Student Union is producing a video that sheds light on how international students have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Questions are provided on a Google form; students are asked to submit a video with answers about their situation before May 16, and to share the survey with friends who might want to contribute as well.

Encore performances on WVBR

WVBR’s “Bound for Glory” is presenting rebroadcasts of concerts by Mustard’s Retreat on May 17 and Dan Berggren on May 24. The folk music program airs Sunday evenings at 8 p.m.

Mustard’s Retreat is David Tamulevich and Michael Hough, who have been writing and performing together since 1974. The May 17 broadcast features their April 12, 2015, show in the Anabel Taylor Café on campus. Berggren’s live show from April 22, 2018, features original songs and stories from the Adirondacks.

Now in its 53rd year – and hosted since its inception by Phil Shapiro, M.A. ’69 – “Bound for Glory” airs weekly on WVBR-FM, 93.5 and 105.5 and streaming online. Concert broadcasts feature three sets of live music by featured guests at 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30 p.m.

Student filmmaker Q&A

The Department of Performing and Media Arts will present a Q&A with three filmmakers from this semester’s advanced documentary class, May 18 from noon to 12:45 p.m. EDT on Facebook Live.

Their short films explore themes of climate change, indigenous culture and knowledge, and visual anthropology. Watch the films before the live Q&A at the links below.

In “Frack You” by communication/anthropology major Gillian Nicole Harrill ’21, residents of a Pennsylvania town reflect on how the natural gas industry has shaped their lives in different ways.

“Sensations of Seasonal Rhythms” by Daler Kaziev, a graduate student in natural resources, focuses on how farmers in the Pamir Mountains of central Asia are attuned to seasonal sensations corresponding to cyclical changes in the natural environment, countering notions of linear time.

 “Tong Tana,” by Matt Milward ’20, an environmental science and development sociology major, shows the connection to nature through music for Penan people in the village of Long Lamai in Malaysian Borneo, and how the music’s stories resound in Penan culture.

The documentary course is taught by Natasha Raheja, postdoctoral associate in the Department of Anthropology, and Randy Hendrickson, media assistant in the Department of Performing and Media Arts.

Community Chat

Gabriel Tornusciolo of the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program will lead a Community Chat, “Living Alone During COVID-19,” May 22, 9-10 a.m. Register online.

The online forum is free and open to all Cornell staff, as part of an ongoing series of support services and resources offered by the Division of Human Resources.

Pandemics and democracy

The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies and the Institute of Politics and Global Affairs, both units of Global Cornell, will present a panel discussion, “Democratic Challenges in the Time of COVID-19: Global Perspectives,” May 22 from noon to 1:30 p.m. The virtual event is free; register in advance.

Panelists from the College of Arts and Sciences will offer perspectives from different international regions, including new developments in Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Co-organizers of the event are moderator Rachel Beatty Riedl, Einaudi Center director, John S. Knight Professor of International Studies and professor of government; and panelist Ken Roberts, the Richard J. Schwartz Professor in the Department of Government.

They will discuss government responses to the pandemic in their regions and the implications for democratic rule, with a focus on autocratic rulers’ attempts to exploit the public health emergency to concentrate powers; restrict civil liberties and opposition rights; and undermine democratic checks and balances.