Ithaca College’s Roy H. Park School of Communications is home to many successful programs, including award-winning extracurriculars like ICTV. This spring, the television station is producing a new show, “Change in the Game,” which is focused on giving women in sports and athletes of color the spotlight they deserve.
With the 50th anniversary of Title IX this year, the show draws attention to an important point of discussion: the importance of diversity in sports. Junior Summar Lowe, one of the hosts of the show, said she is looking to send a powerful message to viewers that showcases the stories and experiences of athletes of color.
“I want to be able to discuss what it means to be in our shoes, as well as highlighting our sports,” Lowe said. “This show is really enhanced on diversity, education, drive and how athletes of color are never highlighted. With ‘Change in the Game,’ they will be [highlighted] and it will make our voices feel heard on television.”
Lowe said she believes that this show is great for the future of sports and that the numerous topics discussed on the show will bring out the importance of diversity and equity.
“The questions that I ask are a lot more in-depth about being a college athlete. They also focus on their athletic career, their impact as well as personal experiences,” Lowe said. “I feel good about the future of journalism, inviting more diverse backgrounds and having them being showcased is awesome.”
Sophomore Lindsey Peters said she joined the crew when she learned that sophomores Carolina Cedraschi and Dylan Delaney, a former contributing writer for The Ithacan, were looking for another producer to complete the show.
“Carolina and Dylan wanted to find another female producer, particularly in the sports department,” Peters said. “They told me what it was about and I really wanted to start producing a show. The fact that it was a new show really appealed to me as I’ve known that I’ve wanted to do this since high school and that really set me up.”
Peters said Delaney came up with the idea for the show because she was looking to bring a new style to ICTV, knowing there was nothing like it that had been broadcast on the channel before.
“Dylan knew there wasn’t a show that focused on athletes in Ithaca,” Peters said. “In our show, we will talk about major league athletes, as well as athletes here at Ithaca. She also figured there wasn’t a show that recognized athletes of color [in particular].”
Cedraschi — who has taken on roles both on-air and behind the scenes with other ICTV shows — said she took on a producing role for the project because she wanted to take on television from a new angle.
“I didn’t want to be on the camera set anymore for ICTV,” Cedraschi said. “I wanted to try something different and create something new with my friends that ICTV has never seen before. With Dylan’s help, she prompted everything for the show that features athletes of color, and we were able to get everything going.”
Cedraschi said that being part of a crew featuring all women is special and a step in the right direction for the future of television.
“It means a lot to me as there are no sports shows with all women producers, and that’s what we are,” Cedraschi said. “There are also no shows that feature athletes that are people of color and that’s the innovative part of it. It creates something that’s new, fresh and progressive in our school, which is really important to us.”
The Women’s Sports Foundation reported that in the 2020–21 academic year, 44% of student-athletes were women. However, the same report revealed that 68% of those athletes were white.
Peters said that by being a member of the crew, she is hoping to create something that will send a powerful message about the state of diversity in the college’s sports community. ICTV currently has seven sports shows, but none focus specifically on women’s sports or athletes of color.
“I’m really excited to be a part of this show,” Peters said. “It’s important, especially for the diversity, or lack thereof, of people of color athletes. They’re missing a platform to shine and showcase their achievements. Focusing on that brings me a lot of joy and I love being a part of a change. That’s the main point of our show.”
Cedraschi, a member of the women’s track and field team, said being on both sides of the story as a woman of color in sports and producer of the show is important towards the ultimate message she is trying to send. Similarly, Delaney is also a member of the softball team.
“As a person of color, I think it’s great to feature both sides and to be able to tell a different side of sports and not just the same with men being featured,” Cedraschi said. “In general, we don’t see many people of color in sports who are featured a lot, especially on campus. Talking about it is showing that we’re trying to be progressive, and being able to have a voice as a producer and a woman in sports means a lot to me. Not just that, but being able to show both sides of my race and being able to play sports as well is special.”
