THURSDAY, VOLUME 88 APRIL 8, 2021 THE ITHACAN ISSUE 8 ACCURACY • INDEPENDENCE • INTEGRITY Cuts have little effect on admissions Community mourns loss BY SYD PIERRE The Academic Program Prior- BY CAITLIN HOLTZMAN itization (APP) at Ithaca College has resulted in the elimination of Members of the Ithaca College com- 116 full-time equivalent faculty munity gathered March 31 to honor positions along with other de- junior Abby Paquet, who died unex- partments, programs and majors. pectedly March 30. Some prospective students have Approximately 100 community concerns about the effects of the members attended the service over cuts, while others feel the cuts Zoom. Paquet was majoring in ap- will not have an impact on their plied psychology in the School of futures at the college. Humanities and Sciences. During Andrew Herrick, a senior at her time at the college, she was the Mechanicville High School in Me- treasurer for the college’s Habitat for chanicville, New York, said he was Humanity chapter, a student employ- worried about the example the ee for Information Technology, a college is setting. Dean’s List student and an inductee of “I’m just concerned, mostly the Oracle Honor Society. Hierald Os- orto, director of the Office of Religious about the fact that if they can cut Nathan Kristiansson, a high school student from St. Paul, Minnesota, walks around Ithaca College’s faculty now from whatever pro- and Spiritual Life, said the COVID-19 campus with his family April 5. The college is discouraging visitors from coming to campus. pandemic has changed the way com- grams that they choose [and] even ASH BAILOT/THE ITHACAN though it might not be affecting munity members gather to grieve me specifically right now, if they that while the college was his first to do? So, it kind of puts me in a strategy, said the college is just and remember. established as a precedent that choice and he committed in Feb- position where I’m kind of stuck, over 3.5% ahead of the number of “As we gather across screens and they can do this, in the future, they ruary, he spent time considering for lack of a better word. But I applications submitted compared locations, this space amplifies our may choose to cut faculty where it other options after learning about will add, at the end of the day, I to near the end of last year. She heartbreak,” Osorto said. “In the does affect me,” Herrick said. the faculty and program cuts. think I made the right decision said official application numbers midst of this grief, feel the love and Herrick, who plans to double “I already applied early deci- to commit.” could be released near the end of kindness that Abby radiated. And even major in music education and sion,” Herrick said. “So, what does Laurie Koehler, vice president at a distance this community’s heart ADMISSIONS, PAGE 4 euphonium performance, said that leave me the opportunity for marketing and enrollment will hold you and keep on beating with you.” Osorto shared part of a poem, “Blessing for the Brokenhearted,” by Jan Richardson. IC to require students to be vaccinated President Shirley M. Collado thanked the faculty and staff members BY CAITLIN HOLTZMAN who supported Paquet’s growth at the New York state has named Ithaca college. Collado said she appreciat- College, Cornell University and Tompkins ed the college community for being Cortland Community College (TC3) as there for each other and Paquet’s COVID-19 vaccination sites. Ithaca College family during this difficult time. She is also requiring vaccinations for students said she wants the campus commu- next fall. nity to continue moving forward and Currently, it is unknown whether Ithaca never take a connection with a person College will receive a shipment of vaccines for granted. to distribute to students, faculty and staff. “You never get used to losing a stu- Tompkins County spokesperson Dominick dent, and I’ve been doing this work Recckio said that the county has not received for over 20 years, and it never ever information on how to move forward with ad- gets easy,” Collado said. ditional vaccine sites at the colleges. It is also La Jerne Cornish, provost and unknown if the colleges are able to admin- senior vice president for academic ister the vaccine to the public beyond their affairs, asked the attendees to join her Ithaca College has been named a COVID-19 vaccination site by New York state. The campus communities. in prayer to honor Paquet’s life. college is also requiring returning students be vaccinated for COVID-19 for the Fall 2021. Christina Moylan, director of public health Leigh Ann Vaughn, professor in the COURTESY OF BRANDON GALIONE emergency preparedness, said that the college Department of Psychology, supervises does have a plan to set up a vaccination clinic students will be required to be fully vacci- a majority of their classes to be in person and the Social and Personality research on campus but that it is waiting for more infor- nated for COVID-19 to return to campus for classes will not be offered in the hybrid for- team Paquet was on and spoke on be- mation and guidance from the state. She said Fall 2021. mat. A limited amount of classes will be offered half of the Department of Psychology. the college has made a request for vaccines, Religious and medical exemptions for the completely online. Gov. Andrew Cuomo an- Vaughn said Paquet was enthusiastic but has not been informed if the vaccines will vaccine will be honored, Collado said. nounced March 29 that vaccine eligibility about psychology and wanted to get be provided. “I am announcing this intention in a mo- would open to New York residents ages 16 and her Ph.D. in psychology. Vaughn said “We’ve put into place the steps to be able to ment marked by the widespread rollout of up starting April 6. Paquet was interested in people’s provide the vaccine or to do our own vaccine vaccination and promising data regarding its Students can make vaccine appointments well-being and how they responded clinic on campus,” Moylan said. efficacy,” she said. through New York state at a state vaccina- to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moylan also said it would be beneficial for Collado said that with most of the cam- tion site or put their names on the Tompkins “Abby was brilliant and enthu- the college to have the Johnson & Johnson pus community being vaccinated, the risk County Vaccine Registry to be notified of siastic, and her teammates, many one-shot vaccine. of spreading COVID-19 among the campus available appointments. of whom are here right now, talk President Shirley M. Collado said in an is diminished. about how she always had positive CONTACT CAITLIN HOLTZMAN email to the campus community April 7 that Collado said students should also expect [email protected] MEMORIAL, PAGE 4 LIFE & CULTURE | page 11 OPINION | page 7 SPORTS | page 14 BOOKSTORE CAMPUS PLANS TENNIS PLAYERS MARKS 10 YEARS FOR REOPENING REUNITE ON OF COMMUNITY REQUIRE CAUTION COLLEGE COURT 2 | NEWS THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021 New public safety reforms passed was invited to provide feedback. BY CHRIS TOLVE One of the reforms adopted is to Roughly nine months after the create a Department of Public Safety killing of George Floyd, the Tomp- (DPS), initially named the Depart- kins County Legislature and the ment of Community Solutions and Ithaca Common Council each voted Public Safety, which would be led by to approve a set of resolutions seek- a civilian and eventually replace the ing to reform local law enforcement Ithaca Police Department (IPD). March 30 and 31, respectively. It will include a new team of un- The resolutions, drafted by the armed first responders for certain Reimagining Public Safety Col- nonviolent calls while maintaining The Tompkins County Legislature and the Ithaca Common Council voted to approve resolutions that will laborative, were in response to its armed police officers. reform local law enforcement. The Reimagining Public Safety Collaborative created the resolutions. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive or- Paula Ioanide, professor in Itha- ASH BAILOT/THE ITHACAN der in June directing municipalities ca College’s Center for the Study with police forces to develop a plan of Culture, Race and Ethnicity 30, the legislature passed an amend- because the county voted on its through with its full plan.” to address community engagement (CSCRE), participated in one of five ment to remove the resolution resolutions one day prior to the city. Josh Young, deputy senior and racial bias by April 1. working groups that helped com- transferring ownership of the SWAT “The county decided that it vice president of Justice Initia- The collaborative was a joint pose the draft report. Mobile Command Vehicle from the wanted to know what the city was tives for the CPE, said community initiative by Tompkins County, “I think the presence of unarmed IPD to the county’s Department of planning on doing with it first be- input shaped the reforms from the the City of Ithaca and the Center officers will allow for the building of Emergency Response. fore it made further plans,” he said. summer through March. for Policing Equity (CPE), a non- relationships with the community Instead, the legislature re- “Also, there’s some disagreement “Part of the process was doing profit that collects data on police that were not possible before when solved to analyze the usefulness of on how it should be made available focus groups with very specific vul- bias. The collaborative’s 98-page the focus was only on enforcement the vehicle.