D16 has applied and is waiting on an admission decision for Ithaca College. My husband says perhaps it is best to take the school off her list now…why attend this school and have to deal with the contentious environment for the next year? He feels it will be a distraction. She has perfectly good options at other schools already in hand, although Ithaca ranked high on her list.
We had the same concern. However, we were on campus for music audition weekend in mid-December and were pleasantly surprised. Although people would openly discuss the issues when asked (they weren’t trying to hide anything), all of the faculty and students were very friendly and the climate was cordial.
As a side note, back in the dark ages my college president resigned under controversy and it didn’t really affect the students much at all.
Thank you for the update!
There were quite a few schools with similar incidents last year. Any school you pick may have the same issues come up this year. I would not let that deter you.
True that there are several other schools with similar incidents. But there have been multiple votes of no confidence in this President, he has agreed to retire but not until the summer of 2017. So that is another 18 months on a campus of students and staff that don’t want him there.
My son is a current freshman at Ithaca and has not found the environment distracting. In fact, he has found the discussion interesting and enlightening.
D is at IC and also doesn’t find the atmosphere distracting at all. She felt that the energy on campus this fall was ultimately very positive and she enjoyed the discussions that she had with other students. Now the president is leaving at the end of '17, which gives the school time to search for a new president and create a smooth transition to new leadership. It seems that the student body as a whole is happy with this outcome. I honestly don’t think that the political atmosphere on campus should be a concern for new students.
My son is graduating this year. I agree with compmom16 - this type of controversy engenders deep discussions about beliefs and values, and led to a sense of solidarity on campus regarding vision - the student body is happy with the outcome. Ithaca has been a wonderful fit for my son, and he has had many opportunities there - it will be a hard transition when he leaves.
I am not specifically referring to any racial tensions/issues on Campus which might spark further discussion regarding beliefs/values etc which is good What I am referring to is a general lack of willingness of staff/administrators to work with this president until he leaves, thereby preventing smooth operation of the university. And while there may be a renewed sense of vision and solidarity, implementation of vision etc is stymied or ineffectual until new leadership is in place? Or worse everyone agrees that things need to change but in all actuality the change will not occur as the heated debate the occurred last fall cools. Will need to do a bit more research into how the university intends to implement change and what they have done to date to ensure it happens.