Ithaca College

On Tuesday, August 18, Ithaca College announced that our fall semester would be online; this was the safe and responsible decision. However, this decision has already brought about many thoughts and feelings, impacting our Ithaca College student community.

The Return to Campus Plan that was distributed to the campus community earlier this month provided no guarantee of our safety should students choose to come back to campus. A plan that did not guarantee our safety did not sit right with me. Seemingly the money made from a student being on campus was more important than that student’s health and safety.    The decision to move to a remote semester came just weeks before the phased-in move-in process was about to start. By this point, many students have already made travel arrangements and moved into their off-campus housing. The areas in need of addressing are as follows, and these sentiments mirror that of the campus community:

• Our international students need support both financially and otherwise.
• Students already living in Ithaca need access to campus resources other than Hammond Health Center (like the library, study spots, practice rooms, etc.)
• We need our faculty to be flexible and understanding throughout this semester as this decision may impact student’s stress and well-being.

In no way is this list of concerns exhaustive. Certain factors do not have a set solution, like taking care of the mental health and well-being of those affected by this decision. I hope that these concerns and others are addressed by the administration sooner rather than later. Communication from the college has not been well received, and we hope to see improvement as we continue into the fall. Respectfully, the preferred communicative efforts would be either auditory or visual to ensure information is consumed most equitably.  

To my knowledge, faculty members have been hard at work adapting their courses to an online experience. To those faculty members, thank you for your hard work and thoughtfulness. Inevitably, there will be issues with online-only classes. There are majors and disciplines meant to be taught, learned, and practiced in person. I hope the college is working closely with those departments, faculty, and students to provide support and resources as needed. Between students and faculty, I hope that we can work together so that we can achieve both student and faculty success this semester.  

We could not have imagined that this would be our reality, but it is. I hope to see timely and impactful decision making on the part of the administration to support students through this time. To the student community at Ithaca College, keep bringing your concerns and questions to the table. We must be critical of how our administration is dealing with this seemingly sudden decision. This decision is impacting students in different ways, please take care of yourself, reach out if you need support, and stay safe during these times.  

Please reach out to sgcpresident@ithaca.edu for any questions or concerns.   

Sincerely,

Connor Shea

President of the Student Body