A Losing Battle – Jeffrey Cheung

Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis are college graduates who went the distance in search for the truth. They questioned the idea of corn and asked themselves how corn related to our lives, only to find out the bitter truth. Their goal was to discover the path corn took in America and the relationship it has to our diets and its relationship with obesity in America. In an experiment of testing and DNA sampling through Ian and Curt’s hair, they found corn imbedded within through DNA. Everything seemed to be linked to corn such as corn fed beef, corn waxed fruits, and corn syrup. Corn syrup is a substitution for sugar because it could have been produced at a cheaper price. Although it could still bring out its sweetness, it is practically found in most of the food we consume, leading the nation into obesity.

Ian and Curt decided to travel back to their hometown in Iowa and create an experiment that would test their theory of how obesity is led by corn. Their theory was that children in this generation wouldn’t live longer than pervious generations and they’ve gone the distance to prove their theory. Traveling back to their hometown in Iowa, they’ve decided to follow their corn and illustrate where the corn is sold. The truth is that their hometown produces enough corn to feed America and export to other nations. The amount of corn produced in their small town allows the town to prosper through government funding and the vast amount of arcs of corn each farmer produces. Ian and Curt proved the amount of corn these farmers produced wouldn’t make up the amount of money they spent on producing the corn, only to find out that their profits come from the government. Corn is fed to animals in a compacted space so the animal gets fatter in a smaller amount of time. Since most of the meats that Americans eat today are from corn fed animals, the meat quality has become worst throughout these decades. The meaty animal is mostly made up of fatty tissues rather than actual meat which proves to show that Americans are only eating fat rather than a real slice of meat.

The idea that the nation wouldn’t have to spend half of a family’s income on food has changed through these past few decades. The American family only spends about 15-17% of their paycheck on food, giving the people more variety in their spending. This is made possible through corn, and the substitution of pure sugar with toxic waste of corn syrup. Corn syrup is one of the leading reasons why America is seen as an obesity nation. It can be found in soft drinks, candy, nutrition bars, chips, ice cream and any sugary treat. A fatter nation means more heart problems, diabetes, lung problems and a shorten life expectancy.

After watching this documentary, it made me more aware of what I am consuming. Instead of grabbing whatever I feel like eating, it made me realize what I am doing to my body. I knew what that corn syrup was a substitution for sugar ever since I was a little boy but never really understood how it can affect me in a negative way. This documentary in a way shows how corn is produced into corn syrup and the process corn goes through to become that syrup substance. Certain acids and toxic waste has been added to make the process go though smoothly and it makes me wonder, what else goes into our foods without the approval of the consumer. It makes me worry.

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Global Awareness

Today I attended the global awareness workshop. The workshop took place on 22nd ave in room 301. I definitely learned a lot from the instructor about different programs that I can participate in.

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V.I.T.A

I went to the V.I.T.A. open house on November 19th in room 3-165 and it was an interesting experience. We listened to past volunteers and trainers from: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and JP Morgan.

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P.E.W

The workshop was held at the multipurpose room. Although I was nearly an hour late to that workshop (I have class till 1:20 on Tuesdays), the room was still cramped with people and tables when I arrived there. I spoke with an adviser from  the Macaulay Honor. She was really nice and answered my questions about the Honor program. she also mentioned I can still apply to as long as I maintained a certain average.   Although there were lottery draw toward the end, the overall workshop was pretty boring. Nonetheless, I think it was worth attending it b/c  now I have a better sense as of what Baruch has to offer to me.

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Presentation

The final presentation was relatively fun and helpful. Every group got a chance to articulate on what we think are necessary for a successful career after graduated from the college. My group performed two scenarios on job interview. I thought if we had extra time to rehearse prior the due date, our presentation would had been a lot better.  One other topic brought up during the presentation was the importance of First impression. That group gave hints like speak confidently and coherently in an interview. Overall, the presentation was nicely done. Good job guys.

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Fresh Start

This seminar lasted about 5 minutes. Those 5 minutes went by fast, I do not recall anything she had said in those 5 minutes. Was a good start, for my first freshman seminar workshop

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Club Fair

The gym was cramped with about a thousand kids. The line to get into the gym had a lot of people too. I wasn’t really interested in learning about any clubs since I had already chosen a club earlier. The free drinks handed out by the T.E.A.S were nice, so was the noodles.

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Sonia Sotomayor

In the seminar, I learned about the effect Sonia Sotomayor’s ascent to Supreme Court judge has on “minorities”. Basically, she is seen as a role model because she started from the bottom as a hard working student. That hard work paid out through the years and she stands where she is now. The seminar pretty much discussed this about her. Somewhat interesting.

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A Doll’s House

This was a pretty entertaining workshop, I learned that there is a theater downstairs of the vertical campus, and it looks pretty mellow down there. I watched a play called A Doll’s House. The actors were fun to watch and all in all a good experience.

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Career Exploration Workshop

On Thursday, I attended a workshop about Basic Interviewing Skills given by the STARR Career Development Center. The woman who led the workshop was very knowledgeable about the interviewing process. She conveyed the information she knew thoughtfully and simply, so all who were there were able to follow along. I learned about what to wear to a formal business interview, as well as things to say about myself, questions to ask the interviewer, and little tips and tricks to help make my interview stand out from the others.

At the end, the woman answered the audience’s questions, which helped to further my knowledge about the interviewing process because the questions raised by some of the people in the audience were very interesting. Overall, this workshop was very useful in helping me to better understand and prepare for a professional business interview.

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