OPIN1v . Ithaca's WHAT'S identity crisis BEHIND THAT Page 13 SPORTS SMILE1 Senior pitcher stands out Page17 Page 25 Volume-71, Number 26 . Ithaca, N.Y. Thursday, April 15, 2004 Committee· to announce SIS changes BY CHRIS WHITE Soft, Oracle, Datatel and Sun­ Staff Writer gard/SCT. Metzger said the full price of It has happened to every stu­ the system will be in the millions, dent at least once. Waking up but it's an investment the college early and going to class has to make to keep up with halfway across campus only to changing technology. find a piece of paper.hanging on The college built its current the door saying the class is can­ SIS system over time as the need celed and there was no need to developed, said Tom Torello, ex­ get up. ecutive director of marketing In the future, students may communications and member wake up in the morning, log onto of the SIS steering committee. the computer system and find a Metzger said every so often, message saying that class is a major network system like this · REBECCA GARDNER/THE ITHACAN canceled. needs to be completely updated. SENIOR CLASS PRESIDENT-ELECT Leigh Ann Scheider, right, celebrates with roommate Liza Risoli. This is what a new Student In­ The school was dealing too formation System could bring to much with aging technology the college after it is fully im­ and aging software, and it was plemented, said Larry Metzger, time an overhaul, he said. 4.4.05.wins senior race dean of enrollment planning Torello said the school first and chairman of the Student In­ looked into the option of build­ formation System project's ing its own system. One-party SGA election suffers from low turn:out steering committee. "[We] realized The lllfomwion SO!J}~ t 8' , Staff Writer elections committee chairman, now we can finally start to get those students through the registrar's sense," h~ said. said the Election Committee is very ideas in motion." Web site and offers access to To decide on companies, the In an uncontested Student pleased with the voter turnout this Solutions' platform was built transcripts, grades and account school hired a consulting firm. Government executive board year, especially considering there around students, and the group information. Torello said the school fed the election, 8.2 percent of students vot­ was only one party running for plans to use its capacity as the ex­ Metzger said a new system firm information, and it recom­ ed in Tuesday's elections, a 3.6-per­ • SGA. Pearsall said it is encourag­ ecutive board of SGA to empower would enable a student to get all mended four possible vendors. cent decrease from last year. ing that though there was only one student voices and provide access. of their infol1Jl8lion with one sin­ Datatel and SCT both arc ex­ The unopposed Solutions Party party, the students still used their Freshman Kristen Leising, vice gle log-on. clusively for use in higher ed­ won the SGA spot, with 515 voices and voted. president of campus affairs-elect, With one sign-on, a student ucation, Metzger said. Oracle votes. Also, 4.4.05 beat out The Pa­ The Solutions Party members commented on the support Solu­ would be able to check e-mail, has strong software, but few ed­ jama Party for the senior class . were also pleased with the voter tions received despite being un­ class schedules and other pertinent ucation-related clients, and is executive board with 224 votes to turnout since they were running un­ contested. information from one place. looking for a school to partner 178 votes. contested, but hope to see bigger "One out of 12 students put in Four possible vendors, from with. There was a total of 535 votes numbers in the future. They said their support for our party, and that which the college will purchase Each company gave two full cast in the SGA election, in which they are also looking forward to says something," she said. "Based the system, have recently con­ days of presentations. there was only one party running in next year and what it holds for the on the turnout, [the students] must cluded their presentations to According to its Web site, an unopposed campaign. In the se­ student body. have taken what we said to heart." campus, and one or two finalists SunGard/SCT offers its clients nior class election, there was a to­ "We are ready to get started," Along with Dashew and Leising, will be announced later this a simple data entry system that tal of 406 votes cast. This is a nine said· sophomore Brian Dashew, the Solutions Party includes week. allows for high accuracy and percent increase from last year's student body president-elect. sophomore Dave Syracuse, vice The four companies under 369 votes. "We've had a lot of ideas in place, See ELECTED, Page 4 consideration were People- See FORUM, Page 4 Diversity goals and challenges .shape future BY KATIE MASLANKA * still room for improvement. Assistant News Editor For instance, this year's freshman class represents the highest number of minority stu­ At Ithaca College's first Unity Day in Sept. dents to come to the college - 167 students 1998, President Peggy of African, Latino, R. Williams spoke of Asian and Native the importance of American heritage, solidarity among or 10.5 percent of people of different the total of the walks of life. class of 1,584. "We are strongest The number of and at our collective THIRD IN A FIVE-PART SERIES minority faculty on best when we are to­ campus has in­ gether," she said in opening remarks that day. creased significantly. Currently 8.8 percent, "Diversity enriches our community." or 40 out of 453, full-time faculty members Diversity lias long been a priority at Itha­ are classified as minorities. In 2001, only 1. 7 MEGHAN MAZELLA/THE ITHACAN ca College, but Williams' focus on the percent, or seven out of 422, full-time fac­ SOPHOMORE ANGELITA ELLISON returns from class Tuesday. As one of 543 minority concept since her arrival at the college in 1997 ulty members were minorities. students on campus, she is often the only nonwhite in classroom situations. and the inclusion of diversity in the Institu­ But the total number of minority students tional Plan have shown a renewed attempt to has increased only slightly - ALANA stu­ frustration in classes. you know the other side of, you have to say create an atmosphere in which dialogue about dents made up 7.3 percent of the college's "Being the only person of a certain mi­ something because as t~e only represen­ the concept of diversity can flourish. population in Fall 1997. As of last fall, that nority in a classroom, at least for myself, tative of your race in that classroom, you And the message from administrators and number was 8.3 percent. I sometimes feel like you are the voice," have a responsibility." students is the same: The college is working Sophomore Angelita Ellison said being she said. "It's like if somebody says hard at diversifying the campus, but there's one of few minorities on campus can present something that you know is not true, that See INSTITUTIONAL, Page 3 wwvv. ithaca.edu/ithacdn 2 THE ITHACAN NEWS THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2004 -Nation & World Bush defends progress in war CLAY CUISINE Against a backdrop of widespread violence . in Iraq, President Bush insisted Tuesday night that U.S. troops were making progress in restor­ ing order to the country and said the United . States remained committed to returning sover­ eignty to the Iraqi people on June 30. In a rare prime-time news conference, Bush acknowl­ edged "it's been a tough, tough series of weeks NEWS BRIEFS AND LO<.:AL EVENTS for the American people," but he admitted no The Vote 2004 errors in his handling of the war in Iraq or fail­ ings related to the 2001 terror attacks on New Despite its unprecedented York and Washington. fund-raising success, President "Weeks such as we've had in Iraq make some Bush's re-election team is scaling doubt whether or not we're making progress. I back its massive level of television understand that," Bush told reporters in the or­ advertising, according to senior nate East Room of ~e White House. Republicans familiar with the cam­ "But we are making progress. And my message paign's planning. today to those in Iraq is we'll stay the course. In the next few weeks, viewers We'll complete the job." in the 18 states where the ads have Bush said his administration had taken im­ aired since early March will see portant steps toward preventing future terrorist about 30 percent fewer a we~k, attacks on U.S. soil, but he acknowledged, "there one ranking GOP strategist said. are some things I wish we'd have done." Republicans say the ad reduc­ tion was planned all along and that CIA knew of 9/11 suspect's arrest the commercials succeeded in The CIA was tdld about the arrest of a ter­ planting doubts about presumptive rorist su~pect weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks Democratic presidential nominee in a briefing headlined "Islamic Extremist Learns· John Kerry. And they say that to Fly," according to the Sept. 11 commission. while Bush's overall advertising But the CIA did nothing with the report writ­ budget will shrink, more of the ads ten in late August 2001 about Zac~as Mous­ on the air will criticize Kerry.