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Ithaca College Plans to Increase Tuition, Freeze Select Salaries and Cut Budget

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The University’s financial strains and ensuing budget cuts have been familiar topics in recent headlines. In the midst of Cornell’s financial crisis, neighboring Ithaca College is also making significant adjustments in response to economic tensions.
Ithaca College’s Board of Trustees approved a 2009-2010 budget last Thursday that took the college’s current fiscal concerns into consideration, addressing revenue shortfalls for next year due to substantial endowment losses and lower undergraduate enrollment.
According to a statement from Ithaca College President Thomas Rochon, the college will see a reduction of 240 students in next year’s total undergraduate population, resulting in a $5 million loss in tuition profits.

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Ruckus Closes, Limits Access to Free Music

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Ruckus, the digital entertainment service, which the University had provided to students to promote free, legal music downloading, announced Friday on its website that it is shutting down. For the more than 5,800 Ruckus subscribers at Cornell, the closure could mean the loss of access to part or all of their Ruckus music libraries.
“Unfortunately the Ruckus service will no longer be provided. Thanks,” is the message that students will find on the site, which provided free music downloads for its subscribers and was designed exclusively for college campuses.
Dean of Students Kent Hubbell ’67, who was a key supporter of the University’s adoption of Ruckus in 2007, stated in an e-mail he was unaware of the site’s closure until The Sun contacted him last night.

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Profs Battle Milstein Progress

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The decade-long controversy surrounding Milstein Hall is not over yet. With construction set to begin in mid-March, several professors and alumni are voicing concerns over the financing and sustainability of the project.
In a letter to the editor printed last week in The Sun, faculty members, Cornell graduates and members of the community urged that the project be put on hold, in keeping with the University’s construction pause.
The letter stated that the $60 million project could be designed in “a much greener, more attractive and more economical way.” Despite these faculty concerns, however, the University is set to move forward with Milstein Hall.

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Recent Events Highlight Black History Month’s Significance

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This year’s Black History Month comes at a pivotal time in the history of both America and Cornell. The first Black president was inaugurated in January, and this April marks the 40th anniversary of the Willard Straight Hall takeover.
Ernie Jolly ’09, president of Black Students United, views Obama’s inauguration as the top rung on a long ladder extending through history — an image displayed on the Black History Month flyers around campus.
The BSU is sponsoring a series of discussions and dinners this month, the first of which was held yesterday in Robert Purcell Community Center. The African, Latino, Asian and Native American Programming Board’s annual commemorative ceremony for the Willard Straight Hall takeover in April is likely to hold special significance this year.

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Urban Outfitters to Open in Ithaca

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Downtown Ithaca may get a wardrobe change after building plans for an Urban Outfitters on Green Street gained preliminary approval from the City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board on Tuesday. Set to open by mid-summer, the store will add variety to students’ local shopping options.
Urban Outfitters will occupy the majority of the ground floor beneath Cayuga Green, a new mixed-use apartment building on Green Street. The overall Cayuga Green project includes a small cinema being built across the street.
David Levy, the architect who represented Urban Outfitters Inc. to the planning board, revealed plans to break ground by late March or early April. Next month the board will vote on the final approval of the renovations necessary for the project.

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Ithaca Board Grants Final Approval For Milstein Plan

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The contentious debate over plans for Milstein Hall finally reached an end yesterday evening when the City of Ithaca’s Planning and Development Board unanimously approved the final site plan resolution.
The Milstein Hall discussion at yesterday’s meeting was largely procedural. Kim Michaels, senior landscape architect for Trowbridge & Wolf, LLP, and Andrew Magre ’90 presented samples of the project’s building materials to the board. No members of the public addressed the board.

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Inauguration Draws Millions to D.C.

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WASHINGTON D.C. — Hundreds of thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds flooded D.C. this weekend, soaking up the energetic atmosphere and preparing to play a part in history.
On the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration, the streets were already buzzing, despite frigid temperatures in the 20s.
“It’s hot. It’s not cold out here, it’s hot,” said Anthony Brown, a photographer for the police department. “It’s a beautiful moment, a beautiful day in history right here.”

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Homeless Find Community, Assistance in Ithaca

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This is the second part of a two-part series analyzing socioeconomic issues at Cornell and in the surrounding community.

When most Cornell students walk into Wegmans for a routine grocery run, they are not thinking about Ithaca’s homeless only a few hundred yards away.
The Jungle is a small tract of land located between the railroad tracks and the Lake Cayuga inlet that provides a safe haven and a sense of community for several of the city’s homeless.
The city has no jurisdiction to kick the residents off the land because the railroad owns the land; in fact, conductors on passing trains often throw water and supplies into the Jungle.

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Ithaca Schools Seek Reduction in Tension Lingering from Race Issues

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Students in Ithaca public schools have been historically divided along racial and socioeconomic lines, creating gaps in academic achievement and tension within the diverse demographic.
Last October, Amelia Kearney, a parent of a black female student at DeWitt Middle School, accused the Ithaca City School District of racism after her daughter complained of verbal and physical abuse by white peers on the school bus.
The incident incited a protest at Ithaca High School, and the district has since devoted significant effort to ensuring racial equity in the Ithaca school system.

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Scranton: The Office’s home houses Joe Biden

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Scranton, Pa.: home of The Office and Vice-Presidential Nominee Joe Biden. Wasilla, AK: home of hockey mom-turned-politician Sarah Palin and … and breathtaking views of Russia.
Tomorrow’s election has long been the hot topic in the media. Voters know everything about the candidates: their experiences, their positions on the issues, and even their families and their hometowns.
Scranton has a population of 72,861, 93.5 percent of which is white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.