#keithhannon

By Grace Elletson

After a series of events reported by The Ithacan about racial tensions at Ithaca College*, administration is trying to address these conflicts by installing new guidelines for recruiting faculty and staff of diverse racial backgrounds.

The new procedures include training on inclusive search procedures for search committee chairs, diversifying search committees,including a faculty member from outside the unit that is conducting the search and approving lists of semi-finalists and finalists in searches to ensure that candidates from underrepresented backgrounds are included in the finalist pool.  

Still, students and faculty alike are concerned about the lack of racial representation and if these guidelines will actually fix the problem.

John Romanelli, freshman, said that creating a diverse environment where people can learn is essential to a well-rounded education.

“The lack of diversity is a problem and it’s an issue we need to address moving forward,” Romanelli said.

While Romanelli agrees that the guidelines for search procedures might help diversify the school, nothing the school does now will immediately fix the issue.

“First, people need to stop being racist,” he said. Romanelli attributes the gap to social construct. He said he doesn’t want the procedure to turn people of color into a novelty “to fill a quota as the token ‘professor of color.’”

Michele Lenhart, director of Student Leadership and Involvement, said that a crucial part of having a diverse faculty and staff is being able to connect with students culturally.

“Increasing the number of faculty and staff, who represent culture groups other than the majority, will increase the number of perspectives students get to learn from,” Lenhart said.

Validating Lanhart’s views, a study conducted by the American Council on Education and the American Association of University of Professors**, found that two-thirds of faculty members evaluated think that students benefit from learning in a racially and ethnically diverse environment. Also, more than 40 percent think that diversity helps develop critical thinking and leadership skills.

However, Chip Gagnon, professor in the Department of Politics, said that he thinks this need for diversity caters to the idea of “token” professors and expanding cultural perspective merely for students who are white — rather than for the purpose of social justice for minorities.

“The argument for diversity objectifies faculty/students of color as ‘enriching’ for the benefit of white students,” Gagnon said. In an article he wrote for Buzzsaw magazine in 2005***, he outlines contrasting worlds that whites and minorities live in.

“In the US, black students experience living in a white world every day of their lives, even if they go to black-majority schools or live in black-majority neighborhoods. The same cannot be said for most whites, who tend to live in overwhelmingly white environments,” Gagnon wrote in his article “Marketing or Justice? Diversity, Justice and the Academy.”

He said the reason why minorities are underrepresented in higher education positions, links back to the opportunities people of color are given in their public education system. He said minorities have very low graduation rates due to the lack of funding given to schools, which is based upon property taxes. In the 2012-2013 school year, whites had an 86 percent graduation rate, hispanics had a 75 percent rate, and blacks had a 70 percent rate,**** according to the Department of Education.

“This means fewer people of color go into graduate school and get PhDs, which mean there is a limited number of applicants of color, and given that all colleges have a diversity goal, they are basically competing for a limited pool,” Gagnon said.

Gagnon and Lenhart both said they couldn’t speak to the inclusivity of racial culture among faculty and staff because they are limited to their own departments.

Freshmen Maribel Bermudez and Lexy Arter, both students of color, agreed that at least among students, there is no racial exclusion on campus that they’re aware of.

“I grew up in two different cultures, so I feel comfortable with everyone,” Arter said, who is biracial.

Bermudez, who is predominately of spanish heritage, said that most of the people she has met are indifferent to race.

“People here look at who you are as a person, not your race,” Bermudez said.

Bermudez said that she understands that being able to have a professor to connect with culturally is important for some people, but for her, she said she’s likely to connect to anyone who is a good teacher.

By Grace Elletson

9/1/15

Keith Hannon wears many hats. A skilled social media professional, professor for Ithaca College, father, stand-up comic, and self proclaimed “Hollywood failure.”

An alumni from Ithaca College, Hannon had dreams of moving to Los Angeles and becoming a comedy writer. He made the move, but didn’t quite make the dream. He was offered a job at a prestigious corporation in the eyes of many children-- Nickelodeon studios. However, hoping to begin his comedy writing career, Hannon found that he was doing more grunt work than the real writing he had his eye on.

“You need to be ready for humility,” Hannon said, recalling when he worked in the Nickelodeon dumpsters, throwing away leftover sets, more often than on the writing team. Fresh out of college, Hannon had lots of experience with making films, broadcasting and writing. But he knew how necessary that experience was. “You need to endure the tough times if you’re going to excel,” he said, “You’re never going to get anywhere if you think you’re too good for something.”

And as life continued for Hannon, what brought him back to the east coast wasn’t necessarily a failed career, but a child. He said that him and his wife were burned out by the “LA rat race” and wanted to raise a family back in Ithaca, New York.

Now, he’s a social media director for Cornell University, connecting with alumni to hopefully bring in donations to the college. On the side, he works with students at Ithaca College, teaching journalism.

“I find students to be uplifting,” Hannon said, “It’s rewarding to feed off of their energy.” He preaches to his students about the rights and wrongs in journalism, and how the field today is constantly changing. He helps them analyze what kind of journalist they want to be, and how they can affect the field.

Grace Elletson

9/30/15

“Fresh Snack” program to be implemented at Belle Sherman

A new snack program at Belle Sherman Elementary will provide healthy snacks twice a week to students who receive free or reduced lunch.

Healthy Snacks to Replace Junk at Elementary School

43 percent of students at Belle Sherman elementary school are receiving free or reduced lunch. To combat the junk food these students are eating, a new program called the “Fresh Snack” program will give students, twice a week, a cup of fruit, vegetables and legumes.

Fruit, Veggies, Legumes, Oh My!