Posted on behalf of President La Jerne Terry Cornish:
Dear Ithaca College Students, Faculty, and Staff:
It is with great sorrow—but also great resolve—that I make the campus community aware that for the second time in just a week, a possible hate symbol is being reported on our Ithaca College campus. A student reported to the Office of Public Safety on Tuesday night that they discovered what appears to be a swastika as well as other images etched into the metal of the inside wall of the Baker Walkway elevator in the James J. Whalen Center for Music.
This is not—and we cannot allow it to become—acceptable.
To our students: We know that you are hurting, angry, and exhausted right now.
To our faculty and staff: We know that you are hurting as well, and we so appreciate all the support that you have given, and will continue to give, to our students in times like these.
Our dedicated team in Student Equity and Belonging, including the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and IC Hillel, are helping to provide care and counsel to the students directly impacted by discovering this in the elevator. They have also arranged for a campus-wide gathering to take place today, Oct. 12, at 5:00 p.m. in Muller Chapel. We hope that you will join us to show support for one another and to receive support for yourself.
The Office of Public Safety is investigating this latest incident, and we ask anyone who might have information about it to contact them at 607-274-3333 or leave an anonymous voicemail message at 607-274-1060. We also continue to encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses a bias incident on campus, via social media, virtually, or at a college-affiliated event, to file a Bias Impact Report.
Among our institutional priorities for this year is to demonstrate capacity and commitment to improving diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for all members of the campus community. As the President’s Cabinet, our resolve is to lead and participate in the work—the hard work—that comes with making that priority a reality. Plans are being developed for specific campus-wide programming on these issues to take place before the Thanksgiving break, and we will keep you informed as those are finalized.
We understand that you may be focusing right now on a well-deserved fall break, and the opportunity for relaxation and restoration with friends, family, and loved ones.
We face these challenges as a community, and we can only overcome them as a community.
With continued care and concern, and on behalf of the President’s Cabinet,
La Jerne Terry Cornish
President