The Ithacan Thursday, M a r ch 21, 20 13
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Volume 80 , Is s u e 2 2
locals fight gas storage facility Members of IC were among 12 arrested by kelsey o'connor editor in chief
A dozen people — including two from Ithaca College — were arrested Monday morning after blockading a natural gas storage and transportation facility on Seneca Lake. The demonstration was in front of Inergy Midstream, LP’s location in Watkins Glen. The company, which is based in Missouri, is an energy infrastructure and distribution company. Inergy purchased salt caverns from US Salt in 2008 and plans to develop liquefied petroleum gas storage. Protesters were opposing the company’s potential expansion. Sandra Steingraber, distinguished scholar in residence at the college, and senior Katya Andersson were arrested along with 10 others who had linked arms and held a banner that read “Our Future is Unfractured, We Are Greater Than Dirty Inergy” in front of the Watkins Glen Inergy facility on Monday. According to a press release from Our Future is Unfractured, a group dedicated to protesting Inergy, “the blockade joins a growing national movement to call attention to environmental injustices caused by unconventional and extreme fossil fuel extraction techniques, including Inergy’s hotly debated salt cavern gas storage facility proposed for Reading, N.Y.” Opponents of the facility have raised concerns about potential water pollution to Seneca Lake, which provides drinking water to more
Sandra Steingraber, distinguished scholar in residence at Ithaca College, is taken into custody in Reading, N.Y., after protesting with 11 others against Inergy, LP, a natural gas storage and transportation facility located near Seneca Lake. All arrested were released with court dates. courtesy of emily wilson
than 100,000 people. Hydraulic fracturing, which is widely debated in upstate New York because of its location on the rich Marcellus Shale, is the process of natural gas extraction. The extraction process can use millions of gallons
of water, sand and chemicals to break apart or “fracture” rock to release gas. According to a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University, among New York voters the scale has tipped toward opposition to fracking. Among all New York voters,
46 percent are opposed to fracking, while 39 percent are in favor. However, voters in upstate New York are still closely divided, with 44 percent in favor and 42 percent opposed.
See protest, page 4
Part two: Chinese students adapt to life at Ithaca College by jeremy li and michael Tkaczevski staff writers
The transition from high school to college is already a daunting task for American students, but Chinese students face a greater challenge after moving away from family, Follow the series friends and and explore data their native at theithacan.org/ language to a the-china-series. new country. As Ithaca College expands its recruitment efforts in China, there is a rising number of students from China here on campus. Like other international students, Chinese students experience a change in food, culture and language more drastic than American students face. However, the difficulty of the change does not deter Chinese students from coming to the college and the country. According to Institutional
Research, there has been a steady increase in the number of the Chinese students enrolled at the college in the last five years. In Fall 2008, there were three Chinese students enrolled full time, and in Fall 2012, 10 Chinese students were enrolled full time. This follows a national trend of increase in the number of Chinese students in American colleges. At 194,029 students, the number of Chinese students has nearly tripled since five years ago, according to the Institute of International Education. Junior Mei Shanshan said she always dreamed of coming to America to study. Mei said she applied to Ithaca College, despite never having heard of it before, because it offered the most financial aid compared to other prospective colleges. “I went to Chinese college for a year, and I was majoring in English at the time, and then I quit the college because I just think that wasn’t interesting enough for me,” Mei said.
Junior Kelly Zhang, a student from China, stands in front of CNS. She is the president of the recently formed Chinese Students and Scholars Association. marianna dunbrook/the ithacan
Junior Kelly Zhang, president of the new Chinese Students and Scholars Association, said she is getting an education in America she wouldn’t be able to get in China. “American students here are
really nice, and professors are extremely friendly and attentive to my needs,” Zhang said. “It is a small school and that’s really important to me. It means I have more opportunities to develop professionally
within my major.” The college has been expanding its recruitment operations in China for the last three years. Thomas Kline, director of music admissions and preparatory programs, said he and other faculty held 420 auditions in Mainland China, 220 of which were in Beijing, over the course of four weeks last summer. Kline said the college is seeking out international students who are interested in American teaching methods. “It’s a different educational process,” Kline said. “Personal expression and personal ideas are stressed more over here than in Asia, I’ve found. Many times, students are looking for a different way of thinking about education. It broadens their horizons, just like study abroad broadens our students’ horizons.” Freshman Liu Gengshu had learned about Ithaca College’s mu-
See china, page 4
iew orts Prev Spring Sp Ithacan A special
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Spring Preview ROlling Senior relief
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pitcher Pat
Lemmo is a
pre-season
All-American.
DurSt breneiSer/the
are ready nine spring teams The Bombers’onto the national stage. long. to burst ed all season has you cover The Ithacan
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Check out our sports insert previewing all nine squads competing on South Hill
fashion fever
ready for china
Trends this spring include bold bright colors with a ’90s twist, page 13
China program will better prepare students for global workforce, page 10
f ind m or e onl ine. www.t heit hacan.org