By ryan April 9, 2001
Because of a dip in population, Ithaca may lose one of its seats on the Tompkins County Board of Representatives. The possible redistricting could also affect the Common Council, Ithaca’s city council. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city’s population decreased by 0.8 percent, leaving the city with 29,287 residents. In order for all 15 districts of the County Board to be equally represented, the city may be down-sized into four or eight wards. With its present population, Ithaca is entitled to 4.5 seats on the County Board to be elected in the fall. Ithaca presently has five wards. These wards are used for both the County Board and Common Council elections One representative from each ward legislates on the County Board. Ten representatives sit on the Common Council, two from each ward. The option of Ithaca keeping all five of its current seats on the County Board is still open. “We may have to redo wards to make everything parallel,” County Board chairwoman Barbara Mink ’85 (D-City of Ithaca) said. “Our charter says that we should respect municipal lines,” the county’s Charter Review Committee chairman said. “One of the wards may have to share with the town [of Ithaca] or Cayuga Heights.” If the wards are redrawn the constituencies of the Common Council will be altered as a result. “I really doubt that there will be any significant changes,” said Alderwoman Patricia Cartwright Vaughan (D-3rd Ward) ’61, Ithaca’s liaison to the Charter Review Committee. “We are required to be within five percent of the ‘one person, one vote’ idea,” she said. Officials are trying to finish any redistricting as soon as possible. All of the County Board seats are up for re-election this year. Candidates will also have the opportunity to run for five of the ten Common Council seats this fall. Candidates for the County Board and Common Council have to make petitions in June for nominations. For the reapportionment changes to be accepted, voters have to vote in a referendum for the districts to become valid. There must be a 60-day notice before a referendum is held. That deadline was missed for a referendum before June. The new changes will most likely be voted on in September, ideally the same day as the primary. “We at the county level will help them [Ithaca officials] or let them make their own plan. We are on a strict time limit,” Mink said. Officials would like to have a preliminary reapportionment set before June though, so that the candidates would know their prospective districts. “I hope to keep all five wards. Having four wards would be difficult; with eight wards, the representation would be so small. We had eight wards before, but it wasn’t successful,” Vaughan said. “We want to keep the same lines within the city for both elections,” he added. Several concepts have been considered to offset the possible problems with the fall elections. Terms for the County Board and Common Council lawmakers may be reduced to two years instead of four. Ithaca residents would have to vote in a referendum for this to happen. “We hope not [to change the terms], but there is always the possibility,” Vaughan said. Another idea is using a weighted vote system for the County Board elections if the possible reapportionment is not finished in time. “Adopting a weighted system is when one vote may be stronger since he or she will represent more or less people,” Lane said. “This happened in 1980, and there were a lot of lawsuits. We want to avoid that,” he added. If Ithaca loses one representative, Lane said, the city should still be able to lobby effectively. “Frankly, there seems to be a commonality, in Cayuga Heights and other towns. Even if they had a representative out of city boundaries, I don’t think that they would lose clout,” he said. Archived article by Kelly Samuels
By ryan April 9, 2001
With a spirit of fun and a zeal for helping others, many Cornell students painted, raked, cleaned — and ate — to help the community over the past few days. Nearly 400 Cornellians volunteered in the Ithaca community on Saturday afternoon with Collegetown Clean-up and Ivy Corps Day, and around 125 students attended the Ithaca Hunger Banquet last Wednesday. Around 300 members of the Greek system flooded the streets of Collegetown on Saturday afternoon, picking up garbage as part of the biannual Collegetown Clean-up, co-sponsored by the Panhellenic Council and the Interfraternity Council. “There are so many of us [in the Greek system] that we have the manpower to make a positive impact on the community,” said Jamie Porco ’03 vice-president of University and community relations for the Panehellenic Council. Many Greeks emphasized that community service, and not just partying, is an integral part of the Greek system. “Looking at the values and traditions of the Greek system, one of them is doing things for the community,” explained Brian Strahine ’01 president of the Interfraternity Council. “Greeks get a bad reputation for only partying,” Katie Devine ’03, a member of the Alpha Phi sorority, noted. “It’s good to show the community another side of the Greek system.” At the same time on Saturday, Ivy Corps Day sent another portion of Cornellians to volunteer in small teams at various agencies in downtown Ithaca, including Ithacare, the Salvation Army, and the Battered Women’s Shelter. Around 60 to 70 Cornell students participated in Ivy Corps Day, during which all eight Ivy League schools volunteer in their respective communities. “Because we live and work at Cornell, we’re stuck in this bubble that is Cornell,” said Farah Meghji ’04, a member of the executive board for Into the Streets (a day of volunteering in Ithaca during the fall) and Ivy Corps Day. “This may seem insignificant, but it really makes a difference,” Meghji added. “It’s an eye-opening experience to see what’s going on in the community,” agreed Rachel Rogirello ’04, team leader and publicity chair for the executive board. Sarah Jensen, Director of Into the Streets, emphasized that Ivy Corps Day is important to Cornell not only as part of the Ithaca community but also the Ivy League community. “Ivy Corps Day promotes unity among the Ivy League Schools,” Jensen said. Last Wednesday’s Ithaca Hunger Banquet at the Sigma Pi Fraternity also sought to increase awareness of Cornellians about a different issue — hunger and poverty. Although all tickets cost the same price, a ticket-holder had the possibility of receiving the upper class dinner (steak dinner), the middle class dinner (pasta), or the lower class dinner (beans and rice). The distribution of these meals reflected the distribution of wealth in America. “With [the Ithaca Hunger Banquet], we hope to increase awareness of the imbalance in the distribution of wealth in this country and around the world,” said Nicole Freeman ’02, co-organizer of the event. Each person received an envelope containing an explanation of their economic status — designating them perhaps as a single mom working for minimum wage or a successful Wall Street investment banker. “Watching the person next to me eating a steak, as I sat there eating my bean and rice really made me think about the class system in this country,” Betsy Cooper ’04 said. During the meal, Paul Hessler, head of the Food Bank of the Southern Tier of New York, spoke about the need to help alleviate hunger by volunteering or donating. Impressed by Hessler’s speech, Ann Marino ’03 commented, “Students are aware that there is hunger, but they’re not aware that they’re living amongst it.” Freeman, Megan Ronco ’02, and Sonja Slade ’02 organized the banquet as a project for a Hotel Administration class called Housing and Feeding the Homeless. An anonymous donor supplies funds for the banquet to occur annually. In its second year, the Banquet doubled to tripled its attendance and the amount of money raised. “The $1,000 we raised all goes to the Food Bank,” explained Slade. “The Food Bank turns the $1,000 into $7,000 through corporate donations.” Archived article by Elisa Jillson