Letters To

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Re: ‘Tompkins County Workers’ Center Diverts Roughly $20,000 to Support Office of Human Rights Caseload’

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To the editor: 
As a Cornellian who holds a leadership position within the Tompkins County Workers’ Center, I was heartened to see The Sun publish a detailed report on evolving challenges facing local human rights enforcement. The situation in question is a deeply serious one that has profound implications for the larger Ithaca community, and Cornellians ought to respond accordingly. As reported by the Sun, changes made to the Tompkins County Office of Human Rights have left a massive hole in Ithaca-area rights enforcement — one ultimately filled by Workers’ Center staff and volunteers. According to our Office Manager Rob Brown, extra caseloads stemming from OHR’s dilution has cost us an unanticipated sum of roughly $20,000 since April 2018. While the Workers’ Center has proudly intervened to take on displaced OHR caseloads, we must be public and transparent about our organization’s limitations.

Letters To

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: ICUCME Re: ‘Dangers of Cornell Students Leading Islamophobic Panels’

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To the editor:

On Dec. 3, the Sun published a column by Nima Homami grad attacking our organization, the Ithaca Coalition for Unity and Cooperation in the Middle East. We are a grass-roots anti-racist community organization working to preserve the plurality and diversity of discussions about the Middle East and other related topics, advocating for peace and security for all. Our group is non-partisan and embraces fact-based, respectful dialogue, mutual recognition and cooperation to promote justice. We have held numerous events on tolerance, including an event on Islamophobia in collaboration with Ithaca’s Islamic Community Outreach Services, as well as discussions on the diversity of communities in the Middle East and “Cleaning the Hate” events where volunteers join together to clean up litter from public spaces.