I
thaca College students have voted “no confidence” in President Tom Rochon, with 71.75 percent of the over 3,700 students who voted expressing no confidence, according to The Ithacan.
The vote of no confidence comes after I.C. was rocked this semester by student and faculty protests that demanded Rochon step down due to his alleged mishandling of several race related incidents on campus.
Ithaca College garnered national headlines when hundreds of students and faculty members staged a walk out in November, protesting I.C. President Tom Rochon. (Joon Lee / Sun Assistant Sport Editor)
Following events that included a Oct. 8 college panel, where two I.C. alumni referred to a black alumna as “the savage,” and a “Preps & Crooks” themed party hosted by the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, students accused Rochon of not responding appropriately.
Student organization POC@IC organized numerous rallies and protests in response to the incidents, even storming the stage at a public meeting, where Rochon was in attendance. Ithaca College’s protests drew national attention when hundreds of students and faculty members staged a walk out on Nov. 11, demanding Rochon’s resignation.
According to The Ithacan, the poll was sent to 6,907 students, with 3,756 students voting in total and 2,695 voting “no confidence.” Results were announced Monday at a I.C. Student Government Association meeting.
Dominick Recckio, I.C. SGA president, said that the vote laid out campus opinions plain and clear.
“If 70 percent of the people that you are supposed to lead don’t believe in you, it’s time to go, and it’s time to go fast,” Recckio said, according to The Ithacan.
With the results of the student vote released, the I.C. SGA executive board will be meeting with the chair and the vice chair of the I.C. Board of Trustees on Tuesday.
College faculty will also be participating in a “no confidence” vote, which began Monday and will close Dec. 11, with results scheduled for release Dec. 14.