Ithaca College Quarterly, 2002/No. 1

Adding Color

Past Imperfect

The Climate Today

CRE and Curricular Initiatives

Student Recruitment

Affirmative Action

Office of Multicultural Affairs

What's Next

The Office of Multicultural Affairs

The Office of Multicultural Affairs is the College’s center for many ALANA students, the place where they go for financial, academic, and emotional support. Under the direction of Roger Richardson, the office not only administers various financial aid programs, but it also offers tutorial services; operates the summer academic orientation program; serves lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students; and sponsors festivals, lecture series, and other events to help foster and celebrate campus diversity.

Established in 1992, OMA originally served all ALANA students and was a separate entity from the opportunity programs office, which administered scholarship programs helping students of color and other students with financial need. A top-notch financial aid package is one of the key incentives for attracting many ALANA students, and in this respect Ithaca College has not flagged in its commitment for more than 30 years. The Ithaca Opportunity Program (IOP) originated in 1967 (it was then called the Educational Opportunity Program) and was --- and still is --- targeted to recruit and graduate ALANA students who are academically admissible but have substantial financial need. A year later the College became one of the charter institutions involved in the New York State Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP). A partnership between the New York State Education Department and the College, the program covers up to full tuition for students defined as academically and financially disadvantaged, but it is not limited to ALANA students. Today HEOP serves 50–55 IC students, and Ithaca College supplies roughly 90 percent of the funding.

"You can't always be in your 'comfort zone,' so you have to find a comfort zone in yourself. For example, if I walk into a party full of white kids I might be nervous at first. But I force myself to get past that. What bothers me is when a white friend comes to a party at my house and then says he is too uncomfortable to come in because everyone is black. I tell him, 'Hey, I do this every day of my life. You can do it for one night.' "

--- Jonathan Escoffery '02

Soon after Richardson came on board in April 2000, and in order to build a stronger and more efficiently coordinated support system for all ALANA students, OMA and the opportunity programs office were merged. OMA offers a leadership program and summer programs to help with transition to college, as well as ongoing tutorial help as needed for academic enrichment. Richardson stresses that his office is all about "achievement, rather than entitlement. We are trying to attract the best students in the country based on merit, and we offer financial assistance to those who have need." The Ithaca Achievers Program, for example, reduces students’ loans by $1,000 each year, providing they meet academic and other requirements, including community service.

Such initiatives, along with the MLK Jr. Scholar Program for recruiting academically excellent students of color, Richardson feels, reflect both OMA’s ideology and the new mind-set of ALANA students who come to his office. "These students are not internalizing any notions of second-class citizenship," says Richardson. "They have worked hard through our program, and they are not apologizing for being here."

Far from apologizing for his presence at Ithaca College, Demitrious Orellano ’03, an HEOP student who hails from Harlem, says he sees things the other way around: "I feel like I deserve to be at Ithaca College even more than many other students, because I had to work so hard to get here --- and to stay here."

The excellent graduation rate of HEOP students at IC over the years attests to the success of OMA’s academic support programs, even before the recent initiatives. The HEOP and IOP cohorts have frequently surpassed the overall student body in terms of second-year retention and six-year graduation rates. Richardson ascribes this high success rate to OMA’s academic services and aggressive espousal of academic focus --- virtual tunnel vision toward obtaining a diploma. "It’s fine for students to pick an issue and advocate for it," says Richardson, "but they must remember that they came here to get a degree. That is primary."

Navigating successfully through four years at a predominantly white, middle-class institution, Richardson says, necessitates developing a sense of control, both internal and external. Students may not always instinctively know how to behave in a new environment. Indeed, says Jonathan Escoffery ’02, who grew up in Harlem, "When I first came to Ithaca College and saw how few students of color there were, it was a complete culture shock. But then I told myself, ‘Well, OK, if that’s how it’s going to be, just deal with it and don’t let it get in your way.’ I’m not saying it’s easy. There are a lot of obstacles that people put in your way. I just choose not to pay too much attention to them."

"No doubt about it, it is a struggle," Richardson agrees. "But struggle is part of our history. If I am next in line at the pizza parlor and the man behind the counter looks past me and asks the white couple behind me for their order, I can explode. Then the police are going to come, and who do you think is going to end up in jail? Or I could say, ‘Excuse me, I’m next.’ These are skills, and we have to prepare our students to respond assertively to situations, but with cognition and emotional control. The way you respond is either going to lead you toward your achieving your goal or move you away from it."

A. Ozolins, Ithaca College Office of Publications, 5 August, 2002