SGA releases statement about microaggressions
The Student Government Assocation has released an official statement in response to the media controversy it received for the recommendation it passed March 16 to implement a campus-wide online system to report microaggressions.
Class of 2018 senator Angela Pradhan sponsored the recommendation with junior Kyle James, vice president of communications. The sponsors said the microaggressions reporting system would create a more conducive environment for victims to speak about microaggressions.
Since its passage, however, the recommendation has received negative media attention, starting with a tweet made by Christina Sommers, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. The story was then picked up by other media outlets, including The Daily Caller, Legal Insurrection, Reason.com and The Huffington Post. Pradhan has also received national attention for the recommendation.
To read the SGA’s statement, go to theithacan.org/SGA-statement.
Campus radio stations choose station managers
Ithaca College’s two radio stations, 92 WICB and VIC Radio, have announced the appointments of their student station managers for the 2015–16 academic year.
Junior Sean Carney will succeed junior Joseph Calinda as the student station manager of 92 WICB. Carney currently serves as the station’s public service/traffic director. His new position will take effect the week of April 19.
Junior Rebeca Zolet will serve as the student station manager of VIC Radio for the Fall 2015 semester. She held this position in the fall of 2014 but went abroad to the college’s London Center for the spring of 2015. She will succeed senior Megan Harrison, and her position also takes effect the week of April 19.
Izzy Awards ceremony to take place April 15
The seventh annual Izzy Awards for outstanding achievement in independent media will be presented to author Naomi Klein and investigative journalist David Sirota at 7:30 p.m. April 15 in Emerson Suites. The award winners will speak at the event, which is open to the public. The Izzy Awards, named after 20th century journalist I.F. “Izzy” Stone, are granted by the Park Center for Independent Media.
The award ceremony will be taped for later airing on FreeSpeech TV and will be followed by a book signing.
Klein has published a book called “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate,” as well as columns on topics ranging from climate change to racism and torture in The Nation and The Guardian.
Sirota published exposes of corruption around the United States’ $3 trillion pension system, first for the PandoDaily and then for International Business Times. His work has generated mainstream media attention, a public TV scandal, reforms and the scrutiny of politicians, such as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. He has also published books, including “Back to our Future.”
Native American course available for May session
The three-credit course Service Learning in Native America will be offered during the May 2015 session from May 12–22. Students who enroll will travel to the Cayuga and Onondaga Nations and participate in several projects the nations need help with.
Students will be working in the homeland of the Haudenosaunee doing hands-on work in elders’ gardens, at a traditional lacrosse stick–making shop and at cultural and historical centers. The class will also visit the Onondaga Nation buffalo herd.
Interested students seeking more information can contact Brooke Hansen, associate professor in the Department of Anthropolgy, at [email protected].
Teaching and learning workshop to be offered
Michele DiPietro, executive director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Kennesaw State University, will facilitate a workshop and follow-up session at 9 a.m. April 20 in the Gannett Center, Room 319.
The workshop, titled “How Learning Works: Principles for Integrating Knowledge Across Disciplines,” will discuss 50 years of research on learning from the cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, developmental and inclusiveness perspectives into seven integrated principles. The interactive workshop will explain these seven principles and focus on the sixth and seventh principles, which pertain to student development, classroom climate and self-direction in learning. These concepts, which will be illustrated by demonstrations, discussions and other activities, will contribute to a conversation about how to further the goals of Ithaca College’s Integrative Core Curriculum.
The follow-up session, which will begin at 10:15 a.m. the same day, will build upon the workshop with a focus on faculty voices. The session will use some cases constructed from faculty experiences, which will be deconstructed using the seven principles from the workshop. A panel of faculty, as well as the session participants, will offer their perspectives and develop strategies on how to resolve common pedagogical issues. The cases will cover hot moments in the classroom, cross-cultural communication, critical thinking and issues of power, privilege and oppression.
