Vivian Rose

Over the past month, housing assistance resources in Tompkins County have faced multiple financial and resource-related challenges. While the county is working on adapting to the immediate challenges of the shelter system, two key housing programs that help individuals transition out of homelessness — the Village and Sunflower House — are struggling to remain afloat. 

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas led attacks on an Israeli music festival that killed about 1,200 people, now marking a year of the Israel-Hamas war. To commemorate the events of Oct. 7, members of the Ithaca College community organized and attended gatherings to remember the tragedy and its aftermath.

The only proposal on the 2024 New York state ballot is an amendment to protect against unequal treatment. Prop 1, also referred to as the Equal Rights Amendment Act, would expand legal protection against discrimination based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, gender identity and expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and reproductive autonomy.

Students and staff picked and gathered vines growing in the bushes in front of the Roy H. Park School of Communications parking lot Sept. 16. Some climbed into the bushes to grab the vines of the invasive swallow-wort, a plant harmful to monarch butterflies.

Margaret Shackell, associate professor and director in the Department of Accounting and Business Law, designed a model to teach accountants how to use the same balance in thinking as a NASCAR pit team. Accountants use similar thought processes to account for multiple factors within a business like finances, resources and environmental concerns. 

In an email sent Aug. 27 by Melanie Stein, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, and Vikki Levine, Ithaca College’s registrar, it was announced that the college will not have classes on Yom Kippur and Eid al Fitr during Fall 2025 and Spring 2026, respectively. To make this possible, the usual breaks fall during the dates the holidays occur.

In 2023, Ithaca College faced objections from the local community while constructing a synthetic turf field approved by the Town of Ithaca’s Planning & Development Board. Now in 2024, the City of Ithaca’s planning board will meet Sept. 3 to determine the next steps of Cornell University’s proposal of constructing two synthetic turf fields on its campus.  

Julie Boden Adams was hired as the next executive director of Hillel at Ithaca College. The announcement was made June 6 by the college’s Hillel staff and Board of Directors.

Students in Ithaca College’s undergraduate cClass of 2024 began their college experience on a screen instead of in a classroom, learning virtually during Fall 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the Ithaca College community gathered May 19 in the Glazer Arena to celebrate the graduating students’ resilience and watch as administrators presented the students with their degrees during the college’s 129th Commencement ceremony.

Ithaca College Students for Justice in Palestine (ICSJP) hosted a listen-in, their final event of Spring 2024. The event was held at the Free Speech Rock on May 8, where students spoke about their experiences on campus, past protests and the history of the Israel-Hamas war.

An Ithaca College student was struck by a vehicle driven by 30-year-old Blake A. Curtis, a Cornell University police officer, around 1:30 a.m. May 4. The student was identified as 19-year-old Max Ross who is in stable condition at Robert Packer Hospital, according to a New York State Police press release.

Since before COVID-19, Ithaca College has had a larger faculty and staff salary gap when wages are compared to other higher education institutions. During the pandemic, this wage gap for faculty and staff widened as a result of a freeze on inflation-adjusted wages, according to David Gondek, associate professor in the Department of Biology and chair of the Faculty Council.

“Unity is a principle of all free-thinking societies,” first-year student Ben Epstein said during a StandWithUs event, held April 25. “It’s our job as the next generation of leaders to lead this nation and the world toward a more unified future.”

Ithaca College Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) is a student-led outreach club that focuses on traffic safety, substance abuse prevention, decision making and personal health and wellness. It is the first college chapter in New York state to be officially registered with the national organization.

President La Jerne Cornish announced April 4 that Stanley Bazile will be the new vice president for Student Affairs and Campus Life at Ithaca College and will join the college June 10.

Ithaca College junior Noa Ran-Ressler, journalism major with a minor in environmental studies, has been appointed managing editor of The Ithacan for the 2024–25 academic year.

The City of Ithaca announced Feb. 2 that the first “bloc” of buildings that have already been electrified or are in the process of being electrified have been identified.

Norah Jones has a voice that pairs delectably with a fine glass of… grape juice and a rainy evening. Her music from the 2000s is for sitting inside and enjoying a slow dance or three. She is the perfect mix of jazz, pop and suave. Jones’ album “Visions,” released March 8, encompasses what her music has been and much more. 

The New York State Agriculture Commissioner announced the Hunger and Food Policy annual report Feb. 15, which highlighted digital agriculture as a primary source in fighting food insecurity within the state.

Ithaca College’s Faculty Council discussed low salaries for faculty members and how AI changed the college’s plagiarism policy at its March 5 meeting. The council also heard the provost’s report from Melanie Stein, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, and heard updates about the Student Statement Committee from David Hajjar, associate professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.