The Ithaca College Student Governance Council invited the executive board members of several student groups on campus to discuss their clubs and what their plans are for the future. 

The council heard from students involved in International Club, Open Mic Night and the IC Club Swim team about their organizations’ roles on campus. The SGC also discussed holding a Thanksgiving drive to provide meals to students who will be on campus over the Thanksgiving break.

Nuvo

Nuvo, which stands for new voices, is the college’s only BIPOC-aligned a cappella group that exclusively performs songs by musicians of color. The club was founded this year by seniors Destiny Carrion and Vaishali Lerner. 

Carrion told the council she wanted to create Nuvo since her first year of college. She said Nuvo was created to be an a cappella that centers BIPOC performers. 

“Me and Vaishali noticed that there was a real lack of representation,” Carrion said. “We really wanted to make sure that students felt represented.” 

Nuvo performed at the International Club’s One World Concert on Nov 2 at Ford Hall. The event aimed to celebrate the diversity and creativity among student performers from the college and Cornell University. Lerner said the concert was a good opportunity for members of Nuvo to have their voices heard and to perform with other talented students.

“[It] was a really beautiful, intimate setting,” Lerner said. “We had a bunch of black artists come out and students of color come out. We had a really awesome night.”

Carrion said she plans to collaborate with other musicians of color organizations on campus like Black Artists United, Musicians of Color Association and Amani Singers Gospel Choir. She said working with other music organizations will help Nuvo achieve its purpose of creating solidarity among BIPOC performers.

“At the end of the day, … we created [Nuvo] to create community,” Carrion said.

International Club

Junior international senator Baneet Pukhrambam, vice president for the college’s International Club, explained the club’s purpose to the SGC. He said the club’s mission is to be a liaison between international students and domestic students. 

“We just want everybody to have fun and be able to learn about different cultures that they might not have been introduced to before,” Pukhrambam said.

Pukhrambam said over 100 students showed up to the club’s Light It Up: Diwali Celebration on Nov. 9. He said the club organizes events to foster inclusivity and bring together students from different backgrounds.

“A lot of people who go to this college are not from this town, this state [or] this country,” Pukhrambam said. “It’s just one place where people can appreciate different cultures and meet people together.”

Pukhrambam said that while the International Club does not have general meetings and largely exists to organize events, there are still opportunities for members of the club to meet regularly. He said the club hosts an International Coffee Hour in the Peggy Ryan Williams Center every Friday from 4–5 p.m. 

“I’m always there,” Pukhrambam said. “A lot of international students come in just to have a talk.” 

Open Mic Night

Open Mic Night is a weekly event that any student can perform in every Wednesday from 7:30–9:30 p.m. at IC Square. Junior Grace Rankel, co-president and social media manager for Open Mic Night, told the council that interest in Open Mic Night has grown this semester.

“Typically we would average 10–13 [performers] in previous semesters,” Rankel said. “This semester, it has been over 20 almost every night. … We’ve had almost 80 people show up to an Open Mic Night.”

Rankel said the increased interest in Open Mic Night could be because of a stronger social media presence and successful marketing to first-year students.

“We really tried to push it at the student org fair,” Rankel said. “I think we got like 50 people to follow our Instagram just from that.”

Junior Bella Joyner, co-president and host of Open Mic Night, said the club will be holding a showcase from 7–10 p.m. Dec. 4 at IC Square. At the showcase, the Open Mic Night e-board will select 10 acts to perform three acts each. Typically, Open Mic Night acts are only allowed to perform once.

“At the showcase the acts will … get to use this space to be recognized and have the spotlight that they deserve,” Joyner said.

Club swim team

The college’s Club Swim team, called the Narwhals, is a coeducational competitive sport club. Senior Katherine Kummerer, president of the Club Swim team, talked to the council about the importance of team bonding. She said one way the team bonded was through a media day.

‘Even though we’re not super serious,” Kummerer said. “It’s fun to do the things that the varsity teams are doing on campus.” 

Junior Mia Wong, vice president of the team, said it is important to establish a group connection outside the pool.

“We’ll do pasta parties before meets,” Wong said. “We’ll do … game nights, [we’ll do] Just Dance nights. It’s a lot of fun to get to know your teammates outside of the swimming setting, as well.”

Thanksgiving drive

In Fall 2023, SGC senators who stayed on campus over Thanksgiving break held an event the night before Thanksgiving, with food catered by Wegmans. Sophomore Senator-at-Large Joslyn Forcione — who helped organize the event last year — said the event helped connect SGC with its constituents.

“We got to give a meal to people who were still on campus for whatever reason,” Forcione said. “Be it international or just not going home for the holidays, we provided a community for them.”

Forcione said she will be organizing the event and asked the members of the council to see her after the meeting if they are available to help hold the event over the break.

“As of right now … it’s just going to be me heating up that food,” Forcione said. “If you’re going to be on campus and you would like to help, I would really appreciate it.”

The SGC is the sole representative body for the Ithaca College student community. The SGC can be contacted at [email protected].