The Ithacan

Commentary: Buffalo Street Books needs community support

By John Jacobson • November 13, 2024

Independent bookstores are the heart of any community, and in Ithaca, Buffalo Street Books proudly fulfills that role for locals, students and visitors alike. As an Ithaca College alumni who has made their home in Ithaca, Buffalo Street Books has been a shining beacon of what it means for a local organization to serve its community above all. That’s why, in a time of crisis for the store, it is imperative that the college’s community stand behind this iconic Ithaca institution.

Commentary: Readers must be critical in their news consumption

By Will Regalado Succop • November 13, 2024

Following escalations in Gaza in the past year, significant media attention has been paid to the ongoing conflict and its expansion throughout the Middle East. Commentators sympathetic to both Palestinian and Israeli experiences have raised charges of bias against mainstream Western publications.

Ithaca College students react to the 2024 presidential election

By Sarah Cochi, Hannah Coulthurst, Christian Gratto, Chloe Johnston, Makai Yllanes, and Ava Suffredini • November 8, 2024

Ithaca College students respond to the 2024 presidential election. The students were interviewed before and after the results of the presidential election were announced. These responses were selected through brief, impromptu interviews with campus community members. They are not representative of the entire Ithaca College community, and have been edited for clarity and length.

LGBTQ+ youth can find community in online spaces

By Jade Ferrante, Contributing Writer • October 30, 2024

The first time I came out, it was online. I was scrolling through comments on a Youtube video when I stumbled across one that mentioned being gay. Without much thought, I replied, “me too.” It was the first time I engaged with other LGBTQ+ people online, but it was far from the last.

Commentary: Campus community must support all BIPOC students

By Olivia Celenza • October 30, 2024

Ithaca College was supposed to be the love letter the little mixed girl never got when she was growing up, when she was too hard on herself, tired of hiding who she was, and desperately wanted to find her fit in a world that never seemed to truly have a place for her. And in some ways, that was the case, but not in the way I expected. I believed the MLK Scholarship program was a start. This was the first time I truly felt seen as someone worthy of membership in the BIPOC community. A person who learned to advocate for herself and others struggling to find their voice. And yet, something was missing.

Commentary: Internet use creates an alarming distraction economy

By Jade Ferrante • October 9, 2024

The internet is rife with distractions: from advertisements to the endless scroll of the explore page, there is no escape from the barrage of things to click, watch or buy. Smartphones, computers and game consoles have noticeably shrunk our attention spans. There are so many options for things to do digitally that it seems obvious why no one can focus; we're drowning in entertainment.

Commentary: International students lack free speech protections

By Nyx Bhatt • October 9, 2024

As an international student, I came to this country with a strong belief in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution — the one that protects the right to free speech, expression and peaceful assembly for social, political, economic and religious purposes. Because of this, I cannot ignore how Cornell University's recent actions against doctoral student Momodou Taal starkly contradict this core American value.

Commentary: Campus community shares thoughts on 2024 elections

By Chloe Johnston, Opinion Editor • October 2, 2024

These responses were selected through brief, impromptu interviews with campus community members.

Commentary: Democracy does not start or end at the ballot box

By Richard Martin • October 2, 2024

As the 2024 election rapidly approaches, both parties dove headfirst into existential rhetoric. “This will be the most important election of our lives,” said 75% of Americans according to PBS. This was supposed to be the case in 2020 and 2016. Come to think of it, why would any party tell you otherwise? Isn’t the goal to motivate the most people to go vote? Americans are increasingly frustrated with the state of politics. No matter who has power, things are incredibly expensive, our global reputation continues to plummet and we are faced with ongoing fascism. We must have a candid conversation and ask ourselves: “What did we get out of our vote?

Commentary: Passing Prop 1 is needed for New Yorkers

By Lilly Tollin • October 2, 2024

As restrictions increase nationwide, Prop 1 places rights and access in the hands of voters rather than politicians. With an uncertain political climate, it is up to voters to cement equal rights for historically marginalized groups in New York.

Commentary: The college must prioritize educational decolonization

By Emma Miller • September 25, 2024

There are no classes offered at Ithaca College within Native American and Indigenous studies other than the introduction course. Only one-fifth of the necessary credits for the Indigenous studies minor is explicitly an Indigenous studies course. For most people, hearing there is only one class dedicated to a minor that shares the same name would be shocking.

Commentary: What can be learned from Ithaca’s linguistic landscape

By Shuzhan Li • September 25, 2024

My undergraduate class, Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in K-12 Schools, conducted a linguistic landscape project this fall. The goal of this project was to enable students to, in the ethos of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, read the word and read the world. Research tells us that people rarely pay much attention to the linguistic landscape around them. Therefore, for this project, students are encouraged to imagine themselves as fish trying to see the water around them.