I came to Ithaca College for The Ithacan because decades of passionate students built a legacy worth committing four years contributing to. It is this newsroom and the people that give it life that have kept me here. But even in the past few years, I have noticed participation in student-media dwindling as well as outside support for student-media in general.

Whether it is The Ithacan, ICTV, WICB or the many extracurricular opportunities on campus to produce media, the lack of extracurricular involvement is something I think the college should take very seriously considering it has direct impacts on the quality of media we produce and the quality of what and how we are learning. Or if it matters more — the potential students and donors we attract. Without student-media, the Roy H. Park School of Communications would mainly be professors begging students to do their readings. 

I have immense appreciation for the support that is given to student-media, like funding and equipment. And while we do rely on those resources, perhaps more important is the value the campus community places in the service student-media provides. Nobody at The Ithacan works dozens of hours a week because of the three to 10 hours of minimum wage. We do it because we think the work we do matters. 

I know that the institution is struggling. It is not just The Ithacan that is lacking enrollment. Aligning faculty to the student body is a phrase I hope to never hear again after I graduate in May. I understand that cuts need to be made but the college cannot keep positions empty for full academic years or cut faculty lines from departments that have students who rely on a fully-staffed program. Recently, I was at a journalism conference and in one workshop the speaker said something along the lines of, “If you have limited resources, don’t make everything mediocre, make a few things really spectacular,” and if I could give this institution one piece of advice, that would be it. For $60,000 a year, we shouldn’t have random adjunct teachers who don’t know the program or the curriculum and who were only hired because faculty don’t want to be here anymore.

I came to a nationally renowned communications school where in my last year, the college reduced the requirements for my major — a mistake. The journalism field sure isn’t getting easier, so why would our education? And yes, the requirements changed along with a shift to four-credit courses, but while the college can say it was student input, I cannot help but think we just don’t have enough faculty to teach. At times, the expectations are too low and students become complacent. The fact that I could have graduated from the college with a journalism degree without having worked in student media, having an internship or getting to know my community is ridiculous. My bachelor’s degree capstone was just five short reflection papers about my education. 

Moving beyond my gripes, I have been surrounded by individuals — professors, staff and peers — that are passionate about journalism and see its importance and its flaws. Every time the spark in me has faltered, someone would reignite it just because of their love for what we do. I have those handful of people to thank for pushing me to be better. 

I know I will continue to engage with the college, as many alumni do, because of the community I’ve found here and the professional experience I have gained. I just hope that as the college continues on its mission to balance its budget by FY 2028, that it takes into account the long-term impacts of where the quality of education is lacking and where students are really finding their reason to graduate from here with no regrets.