“There hasn’t been this kind of student activism (since the 1960s) and I think it’s just really incredible that so many people came out in support of POC at IC and against the president, Tom Rochon, whose policies have just been completely absurd”, senior Chris Walsh told USA TODAY College at the solidarity walk.
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Ithaca College students protested racial injustice on campus and called for the school’s president, Tom Rochon, to step down, the Ithaca Journal reported on Wednesday.
And while a few believe other universities are joining the #Mizzou bandwagon, Ithaca students say their protests are far from superficial. The student government has also asked for a vote of “confidence” or “no confidence” in Rochon.
The president of the University of Missouri was ousted on Monday after students said he did not do enough to address racism. J. Christopher Burch, chief executive of the investment firm Burch Creative Capital, then repeatedly called her a “savage”, saying, “I love what the savage here said”.
The group hopes that gatherings like this one will convince universities to lower the cost of college and change the way debt piles up on students.
We want a radical/transformative change in governance and structure at Ithaca College.
Student protests erupting across the nation have exposed a deep undercurrent of dissatisfaction driven by race and class. A University of California professor explains the race end of the equation. The university said preliminary testing has not indicated a bacterial infection caused her death.
“I think seeing the support shows that we have confidence that this college should move forward, but we don’t have confidence that President Rochon will be the one to move it forward”.
“Two Public Safety officers, Sergeant Terry O’Pray and Master Patrol Officer Jon Elmore, made comments described by RAs as “racially insensitive, ‘ “aggressive” and ‘invalidating” during RA-training sessions August 18″.
“At this time, I wake up every single morning feeling that Ithaca College has a great opportunity, an opportunity created by the protesting students, to have a serious and effective dialogue on the inclusivness of our environment and on reducing or elminating instances of racism and other forms of bias”, Rochon said.
Officials at Ithaca College say a student from New Jersey has died after a brief illness.
Faculty members and staff will hold a no confidence vote for President Rochon at noon on Thursday, the Ithacan reports.
Also in October, the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity – which is unaffiliated with the school but counts Ithaca students among its members – sent an invite for a “Preps and Crooks” party that included racially charged descriptions for “Crooks” attire.
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In a campus email, the president of Claremont McKenna College, Hiram E. Chodosh, said, “I stand by our students”, and announced steps including a new leadership position on diversity and help for new students, especially first-generation college students, in adjusting to campus life.
