A Response to the Ithaca Love/Hate

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>I found this on Ithaca's Rants and Raves on Craigslist, while it mostly pertains to life outside Cornell, I thought it might be interesting to post here. </p>

<p>
[quote]

As long as I can remember, there have been two factions in Ithaca—those who love it and praise it as a gorgeous, tolerant, borderline utopian community—and those who see it as self-contained, hypocritical, and the opposite of all the values that it preaches. I’ve spent my time on both sides of the fence. Especially growing up, I loved it—I loved the natural beauty and found the “alternative,” “hippie” lifestyle that is prevalent here to be novel and exciting. Later in life I became very disillusioned with all of those sentiments, finding that Ithacans were only “tolerant” of people who shared their same convictions. When I left Ithaca, I thought “good riddance” and honestly didn’t think I would ever come back.</p>

<p>After some significant time out of Ithaca, I’ve come to the conclusion that maybe both sides of the argument are faulty, because they both place unrealistic demands on a town that is not a utopian community—like any other town, it’s just a town with its own characteristics. Of course its characteristics are going to suit some people more than others—it’s a large town/small city with a large population of liberals and a strong economic and cultural emphasis on education. That’s what it is and has been for a while. It’s not a utopian community where every person, regardless of political beliefs/economic stature is going to wildly flourish, even though there are those who make it out to be something like that.</p>

<p>It’s just a microcosm of the debate, but I’ve seen a ridiculous amount of hate directed towards Gimme coffee for being too pretentious/expensive. It may be both of those things, but it’s all just something that comes along with living in a town like Ithaca. If I’ve learned anything by moving around, it’s that everywhere you go, someone always has to get the short end of the stick. It’s never any fun, and I don’t blame you for posting “rants” about it. Also to those who praise Ithaca without acknowledging its faults—you are ignoring a vast number of people who haven’t had the same experience living here that you may have had. I just think that Ithacans sometimes forget that it is not a utopian community, and should not be judged as such.

[/quote]
</p>