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. 

Many Ithacans have been left with uncertain housing futures after the collective loss of government funding for local transitional housing initiatives — the Village and Sunflower House — and the imminent closure of St. John’s Community Center. The Village House is a program run by The Village at Ithaca, which is an educational organization that serves young people. Sunflower House provides transitional housing for formerly incarcerated men. 

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. 

College campuses are often known to be dirty. Mold is only one of the various health concerns that can arise in college residential living. In a 2023 investigative report, The Nation reported that over 180 cases of mold in college dorms have been reported since 2023. This fall, at least two of the reports of mold made by Ithaca College students were attended to by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety.

It’s that time of year again: classrooms fill with coughs. Professors receive apologetic emails about rising temperatures, flu symptoms and fever. The weather begins to turn colder, and many students fall ill.  As of Fall 2023, 33.7% of college students had been diagnosed with the common cold during their tenure on campuses in the U.S., and the second most common illness was the flu virus. 

While as of Fall 2024 the college employs more women than men, there are still gains to be made in representation and support of Black, Latino, Asian and Indigenous faculty members. 

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.

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.