In sync
chow time
Challenge
Business owners take a stab at recreating local restaurants, page 13
Junior runners complement each other as relay teammates, page 23
Rochon asks faculty and staff to think creatively, page 10
The Ithacan ROCHON LOOKS TO FUTURE Thursday
Jan ua ry 2 8 , 2 0 1 0
I t h a c a , N . Y.
Volum e 7 7 , I s s u e 1 5
Administration outlines optimistic goals for college By Jacqueline Palochko Staff Writer
President Tom Rochon addresses faculty and staff at the all-college meeting last Thursday in Emerson Suites.
allison usavage/the Ithacan
President reflects on past year and refocuses plan A day after the all-college meeting, Editor in Chief Lindsey Hollenbaugh spoke with President Tom Rochon to discuss his vision for the college. (Part 1 of a two-part interview.) Lindsey Hollenbaugh: A year ago you had just walked into the college presidency in the middle of one of the worst economic times, facing the
challenge of making some difficult decisions. Now a year later, the tone of this meeting was very different. Many appeared to come out of the meeting positive. Is it fair to say that the college is on stable footing for the next few years? President Tom Rochon: We are absolutely on stable footing in the next few years.
And in that sense it looks very different from one year ago when we had to make a significant adjustment, as did every other college and university. As a reminder, one year ago we cut $4.2 million out of our operating budget, with some modest personnel reductions. But when you’re the staff member whose job is eliminated it’s never
a modest reduction. But we did that and now those changes, plus the record freshman class of last fall — we are certainly now on more stable financial footing. LH: People came away from this believing there will not be any future drastic cuts, is
After a year of budget cuts, salary freezes and job reorganizations, Ithaca College is now on a “stronger basis for stability” compared to one year ago, says President Tom Rochon. “You will all remember how we felt one year ago,” he said. “We made permanent cuts in operating budgets, made real sacrifices and we all took a salary freeze. The outlook this January is incomparably better.” At the all-college meeting last Thursday morning job reassurance, the vision of “creativity and innovation” to challenge faculty in everyday learning and the future of enrollment were discussed in Emerson Suites. Moving away from “efficiency and effectiveness,” Rochon presented a new vision of “creativity and innovation.” Rochon said the college is more stable because of the $4.2 million cut in the operating budget, salary freezes and the reorganization in staff jobs. “The reorganization of jobs was successful,” he said. “Going forward with reorganization will not mean cuts.” Chris Gonzales, web marketing research specialist in marketing communications, said the meeting reassured him of the college’s future. “This meeting seemed to be brighter,” Gonzales said. “We’re all over the anxiety and fear that developed over a year ago in the economic crisis.”
See meeting, page 4
See Rochon, page 4
Haiti disaster prompts local action By Becca Burns Staff Writer
Jon Bougher ’06 had been filming his documentary in an orphanage all day. He took a break with his film partner, Roman Sasiullian, to eat an early dinner. He was in Delmas 33, Haiti, and it was almost 5 p.m. on Jan. 12. The earth suddenly began to tremble. “We just felt this rocking and then the whole house began to shake,” he said. The devastating earthquake that hit Haiti that day left thousands dead and even more missing. According to the Associated Press, the confirmed death toll has topped 150,000 in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area alone, with many more dead around the country or still buried under the rubble. “It was probably the last thing on our mind that would happen in Haiti,” Bougher said. Haiti is considered one of the most poverty-stricken nations in the world, and consequently, its infrastructure was not built to support the magnitude 7.0 quake that hit its capital. The United Nations estimates that as many as one million people may eventually have to leave cities that have been reduced to
rubble to restart their lives in rural areas, according to The Associated Press. Bougher said about 10 to 15 homes in the area around him collapsed. Those unharmed quickly began searching for bodies. “They pulled out this one man and started looking through his wallet and saw the pictures of his family,” he said. “Once I saw that [I] pretty much knew that they were going to pull out his whole family before the day was over.” Later that night, Bougher said a man came to the orphanage looking for pain relievers for his wife. There was only ibuprofen to give him. The next day he came back with his wife. Her shirt was bloody. Her hand was basically a stump. She needed medical attention. Bougher said there was only Neosporin to give her. “That really woke me up to the problem with aid supplies and medical supplies,” Bougher said. Two days later, he and Sasiullian tried to fly out of Haiti. The airport was highly disorganized, he said, and there were no set lines — people were waiting in the sun for three to four hours. “What we saw that day were people screaming,” Bougher said. “People were confused. A lot of people saw this as a act of God.”
Two days after the earthquake hit, residents of a neighborhood outside the Port-au-Prince, Haiti airport try to return to a normal life after the destruction of the 7.0 quake. Courtesy of Jon Bougher
With the huge loss of life and destruction, many organizations have come together to help the people of Haiti. For example, the American Red Cross has provided over $150 million in relief funds, according to the AP. Students, staff and faculty are also helping Haiti on a local level. Ithaca College will be hosting an organiza-
find more. online. www.theithacan.org
tional meeting for Haiti relief efforts at 12:15 p.m. next Thursday in Textor 103. Representatives from the Student Government Association and the Office of Student Engagement and Multicultural Affairs will be facilitating the meeting for students to help with the college’s relief effort.
See Haiti, page 5