The Ithacan Thursday, October 4, 20 12
Campus reacts to restrictions on journalists
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Volume 80 , Is s u e 6
College bites into Apple
Teachers integrate iPads into classrooms for innovative teaching
by Elma Gonzalez and Kelsey O'Connor
News Editor and Editor in Chief
Ithaca College faculty and students are responding to a new media policy issued by President Tom Rochon that requires all student media to route requests for interviews with administrators through the college's office of media relations. Under the new policy, which went into effect Monday, all media interested in contacting an adROCHON said the ministrator, dean, new policy is not director, associate meant to censor dean or assistant student media. dean must contact Dave Maley, associate director of media relations, who will facilitate an interview. Rochon informed Ithacan editors of the new policy in a meeting Sept. 24. He sent out an email Sept. 28 to editors of The Ithacan, WICB, ICTV and Buzzsaw Magazine explaining the new policy, which states that reporters from student media who are reporting on topics of college policies and developments must go through the office of media relations. The email included a list of 84 members of the college’s Administrative Assembly who are affected by this policy. Those administrators were informed about the policy at a meeting Sept. 11. Wenmouth Williams, chair of the journalism department at the college, said though the new procedure does not apply to faculty, it affects their work environment. “It’s affected what we think about the culture in which we work, which obviously has an impact on our excitement, job satisfaction issues — you know, the kind of unmeasurables that are primary reasons for us being here in the first place,” he said. In an interview Sept. 25, Maley said if an administrator is contacted directly by a reporter, the administrator must redirect the inquiry to the media relations office. Rochon said in the email to student media that the policy is meant to curb a “tendency to rely too much on just a few people” which, he said, distracts them from their “actual jobs.” Maley said the new requirements are not intended to control media access. “To best facilitate being able to answer questions and find the best person to represent the institution, the general media policy is for reporters and members of the media to go through the media relations office in order to facilitate interviews with administrators at the college,” he said. External media already tend to
See Policy, page 4
From left, sophomore Ayesha Patel, freshman Adam Zelehowsky and David Gondek, assistant professor of biology, look at molecular structures on an iPad in the Center for Natural Sciences building. Gondek utilizes the Molecules app by Sunset Lake Software in the classroom.
By Erica Palumbo Staff writer
A different kind of apple is appearing on more and more teachers’ desks. Educators around the country at almost all academic levels are leaning toward utilizing Apple devices, like iPads, as predominant tools for learning and instruction. Following the Apple trend, Ithaca College has implemented a pilot program in which 40 iPads
will be distributed to select faculty members — 20 in the fall and 20 in the spring — to help aid classroom instruction and collaboration. The program, which was developed through a collaborative effort by Information Technology Services and the Center for Faculty Excellence, was launched this semester. The goal is to “explore the use of tablet computing for their teaching, research and personal productivity,” as stated on the pilot program website. The pilot also aims to
Shawn Steiner/The Ithacan
create a faculty iPad “community” through Sakai for instructional collaboration. Twenty professors across all five academic schools received their temporary iPads two weeks ago to use during the fall semester. Beth Rugg, assistant director of technology and instructional support services, said she believes the program will help the college gauge
See Apple, page 4
Off-campus applications coincide with rental leases by Nicole Ogrysko senior writer
The Office of Residential Life will now approve students for offcampus housing during the fall semester, rather than the spring, in order to better correspond with when students sign rental leases. Bonnie Solt Prunty, director of residential life and judicial affairs, said applications to live off campus will be available Oct. 29. This decision comes after a hectic off-campus approval process last school year, when more than 160 students were placed on an off-campus housing waiting list. Because many students sign leases for off-campus housing in October and November, Prunty said, it makes sense to move up the application process. “We had a number of students on that list who ultimately never got approved, who had signed off-campus leases and also had an on-campus
lettuce eat Silver Queen Farm serves locally grown dinners to community, page 13
Bonnie Prunty, director of residential life and judicial affairs, said the Office of Residential Life is changing the off-campus housing deadline. durst breneiser/the ithacan
housing obligation,” she said. “We’re just trying to sync things up better so that students have the information they need before they are in a position where they make a decision to sign a lease.”
The Office of Residential Life requires that all students except for seniors — students who have completed five semesters by the fall or six semesters by the spring — live on campus. Non-seniors who want
to live off campus must complete an application and an online quiz, “Putting the Pieces Together: Being a Responsible Member of the Ithaca Community.” Prunty said she sent an email Tuesday to all students currently living in on-campus housing to remind them not to sign off-campus leases before gaining approval from Residential Life. Though last year’s off-campus housing process played a major role in the decision to move selection to the fall, Prunty said the Office of Residential Life has long considered making changes in how it projects the number of students to approve for off-campus housing. In the past, Residential Life looked at the number of students who were eligible to select housing in the spring semester, Prunty said. Now, she said, the office plans
See Housing, page 4
Dusk 'til dawn
Call me, Maley
Goalie coach works nights as a Cornell University police officer, page 23
New campus student media policy limits open discourse, page 10
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