Ithaca College Digital Commons @ IC The thI acan, 2008-09 The thI acan: 2000/01 to 2009/2010 1-29-2009 The thI acan, 2009-01-29 Ithaca College Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.ithaca.edu/ithacan_2008-09 Recommended Citation Ithaca College, "The thI acan, 2009-01-29" (2009). The Ithacan, 2008-09. 11. http://digitalcommons.ithaca.edu/ithacan_2008-09/11 This Newspaper is brought to you for free and open access by the The thI acan: 2000/01 to 2009/2010 at Digital Commons @ IC. It has been accepted for inclusion in The thI acan, 2008-09 by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ IC. OPINION CARD KEY ACCESS FIRST STEP IN SAFETY, PAGE 10 MIRROR IMAGE SPORTS STAYING ACTIVE IN THE ITHACA COLD, PAGE 23 StudentsStS udents cope wwith physical insecurities, page 13 PHOTO FINISH HITTING THE PITS AT CORNELL, PAGE 28 ThursdayThursday Ithaca, N.Y. Januaryuary 29,29, 2009 The Ithacan Volume 76, Issue 16 wo popular Ithaca restaurants have recently been cited Full card key by the New York State Department of Labor for under- Tpaying and overworking their kitchen staff s. On Jan. 21 a NYSDOL press release cited Taste of access begins Th ai and Tamarind for several infringements of labor Seekingjustice laws. Th e NYSDOL charged the restaurants with not in residences paying their employees minimum wage or overtime, keeping inaccurate records and not allowing employees BY DAVID DURRETT for immigrant workers a day of rest during the week. Tips meant for the wait SENIOR WRITER staff were also being misappropriated to the kitchen All students living on campus staff . Th e owner of both restaurants, Ariya Pancharoen, will be able to use their ID cards to Local restaurants cited for has agreed to distribute $28,388 as full compensation enter their residence halls beginning to 36 past and current employees over a three-month Tuesday, and after spring break, they labor and wage violations period. Together the two restaurants employ approxi- will be required to do so. mately 25 workers. Th e system, initially suggested BY ELIZABETH GORMISKY Similar wage concerns have been raised at New Delhi in 2006 to improve residence hall STAFF WRITER Diamond’s Restaurant, Collegetown Pizzeria and Plum security, replaces locks on all outer Tree Restaurant, according to Pete Meyers, co-founder doors of residence halls but leaves of the Tompkins County Workers’ Center, a coalition of key locks on room doors inside. organizations that advocates workers’ rights. Residence hall doors are Taste of Th ai and Tamarind’s lawyer, Scott Miller, equipped with a system that reports said the owner of the restaurants responded to the the ID number of a student who is NYSDOL immediately. entering the hall to Public Safety “Th e restaurant owners and management had an open and a system that alerts residents door and an open book policy and fully cooperated with the when the door has been propped Department of Labor,” Miller said. open for too long. Th e system also Former Taste of Th ai and Tamarind waitress and bar- tracks doors that have been forced tender Deidra Cross was the fi rst person to approach the open in order to prevent nonresi- management of the restaurants with concerns about the dents from entering. kitchen staff in January 2008. Cross said she believed the Since Nov. 3, students in Ter- Th ai employees were being taken advantage of because they race 5, Rowland Hall, Emerson spoke little English. Hall, East Tower and Garden “I don’t think these people knew because they came from Apartment 25 have had the sys- such an oppressed place that this was not how we do things tem on their residence doors for a here,” Cross said. “Some of these people come from areas of pilot, which tested the system on Th ailand where you have a high-paying job if you make $5 every type of residence hall build- a day.” ing for problems. Miller denied Cross’ claims and said the workers were According to Zach News- being paid “well above minimum wage.” wanger, assistant director of the Miller said several kitchen staff members were work- Offi ce of Residential Life, the proj- ers without proper permits, and the restaurants did ect cost $1.75 million. A signifi cant not have the proper records to prove that they were part of the cost was for upgrading being paid. doors, many of which would have Miller said the restaurant no longer employs noncitizens otherwise needed to be replaced who don’t have valid work permits. because of age. Th e NYSDOL would not comment on the citizen- Tyler Wagenet, campus card ship status of the workers as New York state labor laws coordinator, said the installation Former Taste of Thai and Tamarind staff member Deidra Cross stands outside Taste apply to both illegal and legal immigrants. and the pilot had no technical or of Thai Saturday. Both restaurants were cited for labor and wage violations. Taste of Th ai and former Tamarind waiter Matt Peter- software problems. ALLISON USAVAGE/THE ITHACAN See WAGES, page 4 “We were just ready for anything that may have crept up, so with the proper amount of planning, proper time period, the pilot program we were able to avoid any major issues,” Charter school to open he said. Newswanger said “probably almost 95 percent” of the students BY SAM LOWE Seward have recently asked the had exchanged their ID cards for STAFF WRITER Charter agency to delay the opening ones that were compatible with the Despite eff orts by community of the school. system. He said others who had not members and the Ithaca City School “Now is no time to put the Ithaca gotten new cards would need to District to suspend funding for the City School District at fi nancial risk,” do so by spring break, when all key newly-approved New Roots Char- Winner said in the letter. “It’s unfair locks will be replaced. ter School, the board of trustees has to students and their families, the Newswanger said the key locks made its decision and the school’s teachers and administrators, and the had been used as a “backup plan” plans will continue. taxpayers. Th e Ithaca community has in case problems arose with the Th e school, which will open in raised legitimate concerns about the card locks and even after they fall 2009, will provide an alternative New Roots Charter School, and I fully are replaced, emergency person- to the Ithaca City School District and agree that we can’t move forward in nel can still use keys to enter the will emphasize sustainability. A char- the absence of full community sup- residence halls if the card system ter school is a public school which is port and until all of these questions is disabled. only accountable to the state, not the have been fully explored.” Sophomore Juliana Gonzalez school district in which it is located. Kathryn Caldwell, assistant pro- said having to use her ID was easy Th e application process for New fessor of psychology and secretary Tina Nilsen-Hodges, principal of the New Roots Charter School, speaks to pro- to adapt to. Roots started in September 2008, but of the board, said charter school law spective students Monday at the Womens’ Community Center downtown. “Already, policy says you have has met controversy because public dictates that central school districts AARON EDWARDS/THE ITHACAN to have your ID at all times, so it’s schools have to allocate some of their share funding with the charter school, nothing new,” she said. funding to charter schools. leaving many in Ithaca worried about bers signed a charter in favor of the process for granting the charter are Ferguson said it was ultimately Granger Macy, associate profes- the state of the economy. She said the Charter School Institute suspending severely fl awed.” up to residents to act responsibly sor of management at the college and New Roots School will only receive 60 funding for the New Roots School. Additionally, Corinne Frantz, and keep their buildings safe. treasurer on the board of trustees for to 70 percent of the money the district Gregory Ezra, one of the undersigned, Ph.D., the fi rst person to sign the “As you go home, you need to the New Roots School, said many receives per student. said the school would take away fund- petition, said she is upset by the keep your doors locked and know people feel threatened that ICSD “Even though a district’s expenses ing from the school district. elimination of bureaucratic checks who’s around your residence hall and taxpayers will lose money. Th is drop because they are serving fewer “New Roots represents a com- and balances. and who you’re letting in,” he said. is especially heightened because of students, it’s still hard to have to re- pletely unacceptable diversion of “Th ere are no elected offi cials “If you let someone in that you the current recession. allocate funds to a school outside of precious resources from the basic providing oversight on behalf of the don’t know, you’re compromising In a letter they co-authored, local the district,” she said. educational mission of ICSD,” he said. the system.” senators George Winner and James More than 980 community mem- “Both the New Roots concept and the See SCHOOL, page 4 find more. online. www.theithacan.org THURSDAY BRIEFING 2 The Ithacan Thursday, January 29, 2009 THIS Nation&World WEEK Obama makes changes in fi rst week 29 THURSDAY In his fi rst days on the job, President Obama has acted to appease core Democratic interest Study Abroad Information groups, making good on a few campaign prom- Session from 12:10 to 1 p.m.