Columns

BEARD | Men at Work 

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Like many off campus Cornellians, I began my senior year with the ritual of moving: leaving my home of the previous academic year and relocating to greener pastures. Or at least, I thought they would be greener pastures. In truth, while I love my new house, what I’ve moved into is hardly a home in a neighborhood and more like a waystation on the frontlines of Collegetown’s incessant expansion. 

I live in what is essentially a construction site. I share parking with heavy machinery, wake up to the sounds of jack hammering and my neighbors wear hard hats and work vests everyday. I’m not typically one to complain; I get up early anyways and the workers are nice enough neighbors. I usually can even catch a stray “good morning” or two from them (which is more than I can say for some of my actual neighbors). If the minor inconvenience ended here, it would probably be the end of the conversation and I would be out of a topic for this week’s column. But it doesn’t. As I’ve settled in for the year, I’ve noticed the constant, nagging presence of construction all across Collegetown and campus as a whole.

Columns

KEMPFF | The Driving Battle on Buffalo Street

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I brace myself everyday for the feeling. Bump bump bump crash. 

It’s part of the daily battle that drivers in Collegetown know all too well. It’s the fight down Buffalo Street. Crumbling concrete and constant potholes create a dangerous mix that punishes my car’s suspension on a daily basis. 

This scene, unfortunately, is interchangeable with many in Collegetown. Driving in Ithaca can often be a challenge, from the lack of parking in the Commons to the constant uphill climbing. But a lack of maintenance on Collegetown streets, particularly in the area surrounding Stewart Avenue, is a major concern for student drivers.