Fuse Winter 2011 | vol. 4 no. 4

Just Dance IC’s clubs and classes take the stage

Tots on Bots

Babies drive robots for mobility research

Off and Running toward an Accounting Career

FUSE STAFF

The Ithaca College Experience | winter 2011

› STUDE BY

‹ Managing Editor Lisa N. Maresca Web Editor David Cameron ’96

Copy Editor Tommy Dunne Print Manager Peter M. Kilcoyne ’05

NTS F

STUD OR

Having done our own college searches, we know how hard it is to make the right choice, especially when all the information you get sounds so similar. That’s why we’ve created Fuse magazine, a publication that gives you a firsthand glimpse of the Ithaca College experience through stories and photography by current IC students. Is Ithaca right for you?

It’s your choice—and we hope this makes it easier.

NTS

STUDE Y B

‹

“Professor Brendan Murday is incredibly passionate; his enthusiasm is so contagious that I declared a minor in philosophy.” —Colleen Cunha

Director of Admission Gerard Turbide Executive Editor Bonny Georgia Griffith ’92

TS EN

STUDE BY

NTS F

Contributors to this issue: Mallory Diamond ’10 Catherine Kirchhoff ’11 Casey Lewis ’08 Heather Mueller ’11 Danielle Paccione ’10 Andrew Whitson ’11

STUD OR

“Anthropology professor Sue-Je Gage taught us about different cultures, and how consideration must be taken for those who are culturally different.

She influenced how I view the world, as well as where I stand in the world.” —Michelle Montgomery

—Fuse staff

Photographers Colleen Cunha ’13 Lauren DeCicca ’11 Jacob Lifschultz ’13 Mathea Millman ’13 Michelle Montgomery ’12 Daniel Sitts ’12 Allison Usavage ’11

STUDE Y B

› STUDE Y B

Photo Editor Matt Watkajtys ’11

TS EN

TS EN

“I enrolled in Sean Eversley Bradwell’s Intro to African Diaspora class first semester freshman year due to a scheduling fluke, and I was so inspired that I became an African diaspora studies minor.”

—Daniel Sitts

‹ ›

STUD OR

‹

NTS F

NTS F

STUD OR

“Writing professor Catherine Taylor always encourages students to get their work out into the world. She tries to produce strong, fearless writers.” —Lauren Hesse

›

Writer/Editors Lauren Barber ’12 Alexandra Evans ’13 Alyssa Figueroa ’12 Conor Harrington ’13 Lauren Hesse ’11 Mia Jackson ’11 Brian Keefe ’11 Alyssa Letsch ’10 Nicole Ogrysko ’13 Gillian Smith ’12 Meghan Swope ’11

“Eric Howd, my academic writing professor, taught us to address many issues from every angle and point of view, and challenged us to take on new perspectives and rethink traditional thought processes.”—Jacob Lifschultz

TS EN

We asked our staffers: Which IC professor has had the greatest impact on you?

STU Y B

‹

› STUDE Y B

TS EN

STUD OR

›

‹

2 IN CLASS 3 INSIDE ITHACA 4 AFTER ITHACA 5 SPORTS REPORT TS EN

‹

16 Amazing Spaces

Our Fuse dorm contest winners did some extreme makeovers.

STUDE BY

By Lauren Hesse ’11 NTS F

Music professor Jeffery Meyer celebrates contemporary music in a city that loves classical.

8 Mad Men (and

STUD OR

Women) of IC

An inside look at Ad Lab, one of Ithaca College’s most intense capstone courses.

By Mallory Diamond ’10

10 Living Color

IC is rich with resources for LGBT students.

By Catherine Kirchhoff ’11, Heather Mueller ’11, and Andrew Whitson ’11 Compiled by Meghan Swope ’11

STUD OR

NTS F

STUDE BY

20 Making History

How my internships guided me to a career in museums

By Casey Lewis ’08

TS EN

By Alexandra Evans ’13

13 Now Playing TS EN

The best independent movies, documentaries, and foreign films.

By Alyssa Figueroa ’12

A cross-country athlete and accounting major finds the perfect job and internship in downtown Ithaca.

By Brian Keefe ’11

Russia with Love

at Cinemapolis

Running the Numbers

STUD OR

7 To (and from)

S F

STUD OR

‹ › 14

contents NTS F

›

18 Wii Ones

Faculty and students across disciplines combine efforts to help children with motor disabilities.

By Conor Harrington ’13

20 Making History How my internships guided me to a career in museums.

22

By Casey Lewis ’08

Step It Up! IC boasts a number of dance clubs for everyone to get their groove on.

By Mia Jackson ’11 and Danielle Paccione ’10

Volume 4, Issue 4, Winter 2011 Copyright 2010 by Fuse, Ithaca College. All rights reserved. Ithaca College Fuse (USPS 24143) is published four times a year, quarterly (winter, spring, summer, and fall), by Ithaca College, Office of Admission, 953 Danby Road, Ithaca, NY 14850-7002. Periodicals postage paid at Ithaca, New York, and additional entry offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Fuse, fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu | winter 2011 • 1 Ithaca College, Office of Admission, 953 Danby Road, Ithaca, NY 14850-7002.

T EN

FUSE

IN CLASS Series Draws Big-Name Writers to Campus

E

ssayist Paisley Rekdal and author Jeffrey Eugenides came to IC this semester as part of the Department of Writing’s Distinguished Visiting Writers series.

Rekdal, author of The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee, talked about Intimate, her hybrid photo-text memoir due out next year, and about the craft of nonfiction writing.

Eugenides, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel Middlesex, led a writing master class and gave a public reading of his newest work, “Extreme Solitude,” a short story that will appear in a future novel.

Eugenides, who also wrote the wildly popular The Virgin Suicides, advised the IC community to read everything they can because having a strong knowledge base of literature is important for an author.

Writing major Carrie Lynn-Davis ’11 says she learned a lot about research from Eugenides. “When Eugenides wrote Middlesex, he spent just as much time researching the topic of the novel as he did writing it,” she says, “so he stressed the importance of going online and gathering as much relevant information as possible, reading up on experiences.”

The series also brought Matthea Harvey, National Book Critics Circle Award finalist in poetry, to campus.

+

+

+ +

+ +

+

HISTORY SOCIOLOGY PHYSICS HEALTH DANCE A ECONOMICS PHYSICAL FITNESS SPORTS ALGEBRA ARCHITECTURE POLITICAL SCIENCE POLICY + L COMPUTER PROGRAMMING ETHICS GOVERNMENT ENGLISH DANCE ANTHROPOLOGY CREATIVE WRITING CULTURE PSYCHOLOGY BIOLOGY HISTORY SOCIOLOGY PHYSICS HEALTH ECONOMICS PHYSICAL FITNESS hat do you get when you cross a POLITICAL SPORTS ALGEBRA ARCHITECTURE history professor, an PROGRAMMING anthropology SCIENCE POLICY COMPUTER ETHICS GOVERNMENT professor, ENGLISH DANCE ANTHROPOLOGY and a health professor?

CREATIVE WRITING PSYCHOLOGY A new course calledCULTURE We Are What We’ve EatBIOLOGY HISTORY SOCIOLOGY HEALTH en: An Interdisciplinary Exploration ofPHYSICS Food ECONOMICS FITNESS SPORTS ALGEBRA Choice andPHYSICAL History.

ARCHITECTURE POLITICAL This aptly titled course is SCIENCE a part of a newPOLICY COMPUTER PROGRAMMING ETHICS GOVERNMENT 2 called (IC) , or Ithaca College InENGLISH initiative DANCE ANTHROPOLOGY CREATIVE WRITING tegrative Curriculum, BIOLOGY which aimsHISTORY to get CULTURE PSYCHOLOGY SOCIOLOGY students thinking in new ways and PHYSICS HEALTH ECONOMICS from PHYSICAL FITNESS SPORTSunconventional ALGEBRAangles.

ARCHITECTURE POLITICAL “Most problems of any substance need SCIENCE POLICY COMPUTER PROGRAMMING ETHICS to be looked ENGLISH at from multiple perspectives GOVERNMENT DANCE ANTHROPOLOGY CREATIVE WRITING CULTURE DANCE for the best solutions that don’tPSYCHOLOGY cause more A BIOLOGYproblems HISTORY SOCIOLOGY PHYSICS HEALTH down the road,” says biology proECONOMICS PHYSICAL FITNESS ALGEBRA fessor Nancy Jacobson, who taughtSPORTS the (IC)2 ARCHITECTURE POLITICAL SCIENCE POLICY COMPUTER class Integration: Connecting the Disciplines PROGRAMMING ETHICS GOVERNMENT ENGLISH with writing professor Barbara Adams.

DANCE These ANTHROPOLOGY CREATIVE WRITING interdisciplinary courses don’t just CULTURE PSYCHOLOGY BIOLOGY HISTORY SOCIOLOGY benefit students. takes faculty out of PHYSICS HEALTH “This ECONOMICS PHYSICAL FITNESS zones just as much,” says Ja- POLITICAL SPORTStheir comfort ALGEBRA ARCHITECTURE “AndCOMPUTER I think it is important for them to SCIENCE cobson.

POLICY PROGRAMMING ETHICS grow as well.”

GOVERNMENT ENGLISH DANCE ANTHROPOLOGY HISTORY SOCIOLOGY PHYSICS HEALTH PH ECONOMICS PHYSICAL FITNESS SPORTS ALGEBRA

+

+ + + + + PH + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+

+ +

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

E = (IC) +

+

+ + +

W+

+

+

+ + +

+

+

+ +

+

+

+ + +

+ +

+ + +

+ +

+

+ + +

+ +

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

2

NEW ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES MAJOR IS BUILT Looking to design the next Freedom Tower or develop LEED-certified housing communities or figure out how to save a dying city? You might be interested in Ithaca College’s new architectural studies major.

Designed to combine liberal arts with preprofessional training, the B.A. program requires courses in design, math, physics, sociology of urban planning, architectural theory and history, and sustainability.

Students will graduate with a portfolio to help them land a job or get into graduate programs in architecture, urban design, historical preservation, or city planning.

“The study of architecture will give them a real appreciation for the role of buildings and urban planning,” says Stephen Clancy, chair of the art history department. “Not Read more about the program just creating pleasant places at www.ithaca.edu/hs/ to live, but really shaping the depts/arthistory/programs/ human community, values, archstudies. and the way we think about the future as well.”

CLICK THIS

+

+

+ + +

+

FUSE

INSIDE ITHACA

A

G Y

A

G Y

+ +

+

THE

OP OF THE TOWER

For the best view of Cayuga Lake and downtown Ithaca, a coffee fix, or a divine chocolate confection, there is only one place to go on campus: TC Lounge.

Located on the 14th floor of the East Tower, this student hot spot offers desserts (like chocolate fondue, cheesecake, gourmet muffins, and a fruit and cheese plate) and drinks (hot and cold teas, chocolates, and specialty coffees) at reasonable prices five nights a week.

Colleen Wormsley ’13 regularly hops the elevator to escape the hustle and bustle of college life and emerge in a soothing, sophisticated atmosphere.

“It’s different from anywhere else on campus,” she says.

IC2O/2O:

A Vision for the Next Decade What will Ithaca College look like in 2020? IC president Tom Rochon is asking task forces, committees, cabinets, and councils to contribute to a bold new 10-year strategic plan for the College. “We are rethinking what it means to be a learning community,” says President Rochon, who seeks to transform the college in five ways:

1. Encourage integration across IC’s five schools 2. Create a distinctive “Ithaca Experience” for students that combines

IC’s strengths in professional preparation and the study of liberal arts 3. Expand Ithaca’s graduate degree offerings 4. Raise the sights of our students through the academic quality and challenging nature of our educational experiences 5. Continually improve the student-learning experience by reviewing and refining College policies and practices In addition, the plan calls for a renewed commitment to civic engagement and an emphasis on diversity.

O

“Ragin’ Cajun” James Carville Visits Campus

n the eve of the midterm elections, renowned political consultant James Carville delivered a rousing speech to a large group of students, staff, and local residents in Emerson Suites on the topic of politics today and tomorrow. Carville visited IC as part of the Park Distinguished Visitor Series, made possible through the generosity of the Park Foundation.

Drawing on his recent experiences as a political commentator following the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill, Carville discussed a variety of current events and how they relate to politics and the media. In addition to his speech, the “Ragin’ Cajun” participated in a meet and greet with students, interviews with local and student media, a Q&A session, and a book signing.

fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu | winter 2011 • 3

FUSE

AFTER ITHACA

JET-SETTING ON THE CHEAP

E

van Engel ’08 found his first job after college online. “I heard about Jet Set Zero through Craigslist, of all places,” says Engel, who graduated with a cinema and photography degree from the Roy H. Park School of Communications. “They were impressed by the work I produced while still a student at IC, so I really have Park to thank for this job.”

The premise of Jet Set Zero is that anyone can live a jet-set life on zero dollars. The web series follows four strangers as they immerse themselves in a new culture for 90 days—finding jobs, places to live, and new friends. As a video producer, Engel documents their adventures for the world to see.

“Producing Jet Set Zero is an adventure,” says Engel, who’s filmed in Vietnam, Ecuador, and Thailand, “and every day I’m presented with new challenges.”

One of his favorite moments so far: “watching the sunset from a mountaintop in Ecuador.”

Check out Jet Set Zero, and read Engel’s blog, at www.jetsetzero.tv.

S

Playing with Kryptonite

S

ince graduating from Ithaca College, Matt Cavenaugh ’01 has starred on Broadway in such shows as Urban Cowboy, Grey Gardens, A Catered Affair, and West Side Story (as Tony). But his most recent role has taken him much higher—in the air, that is.

It’s a Bird . . . It’s a Plane . . .

It’s Superman was staged by the Dallas Theater Company this summer, with Cavenaugh (as Superman/Clark Kent) reuniting with director Kevin Moriarty. While an IC student, Cavenaugh acted in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca when Moriarty was its artistic director.

Critics called It’s a Bird . . . “grand entertainment,” and Moriarty hopes to bring the production to Broadway.

inging ON OPERA’S LARGEST STAGE

In 2010, Kate Aldrich ’96 performed the title role in Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Hailed by the San Francisco Sentinel as “the Carmen of this generation,” Aldrich, a performance major at IC, is slated to reprise her role as the beautiful gypsy in Bizet’s opera this spring at Deutsche Oper Berlin, this fall at the San Francisco Opera, and next winter at Opernhaus Zurich.

Since her professional debut in 2000 at Italy’s Arena di Verona in the role of Preziosilla in La Forza del Destino, Aldrich has performed in leading theaters throughout the world, including the Salzburg Festival, the Bavarian Staatsoper Munich, Teatro Colon de Buenos Aires, the Washington National Opera, and the Teatro Sao Carlos in Lisbon. Winning the Vidda Award in 2006 landed her a recital at Carnegie Hall with the Opera Orchestra of New York.

Learn more about this talented alum at www.katealdrich.com.

FUSE

SPORTS REPORT Opening Next Fall: IC’S NEW ATHLETICS AND EVENTS CENTER

T

WOMEN’S GOLF SNAGS INAUGURAL EMPIRE 8 CHAMPIONSHIP With four IC players in the top eight at the end of the twoday competition at Blue Heron Hill Country Club in Rochester, Ithaca beat St. John Fisher, Elmira, and Nazareth at the first-ever Empire 8 Conference championship. IC’s Amanda Failla ’14, who posted a team-best two-day total of 175, finished in third place overall and was named Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. This marks the second consecutive year the Bombers have taken the Rookie of the Year award. “Our golfers have worked hard to improve over the last year, and they deserved IC’s first Empire 8 title,” says head coach Dan Wood, who was recognized as Empire 8 Coach of the Year. “We now are setting our sights on closing the gap with some of the strongest teams in New York State.”

here’s something big lurking on the east side of campus. How big is big? Well, about 280,000 square feet. Ithaca’s new Athletics and Events Center is on schedule for its fall 2011 debut. An indoor track, Olympic-sized swimming pool, and indoor practice facilities for seven varsity sports are just a few features that student-athletes, coaches, and spectators are looking forward to. Teams started using the new outdoor turf field with stadium lighting in October, a great sign of the progress made since construction first began in June 2010. Men’s crosscountry coach Jim Nichols says, “We’re really excited to be practicing in the new building next year. Every day I see it, it looks better and better.”

The $65.5 million facility also includes a 130,000-square-foot field house, an 81,000-square-foot stadium, a 40,000-square-foot outdoor tennis facility, and a 35,000-square-foot aquatics pavilion.

Learn more and check out the construction webcam at www.ithaca.edu/ giving/aecenter.

Field Hockey Team Steps onto New Turf

T

he Bombers field hockey team said goodbye to grass with a 2-1 win over Utica in their final game on Ithaca’s Yavits Field in early October. They finished their season on artificial turf in Higgins Stadium, part of the Athletics and Events Center. The switch to turf speeds up the game, upping the intensity and competition. It’s also encouraged more prospective players who are used to playing on synthetic fields to look at IC’s field hockey program. In addition to attracting new recruits, the team benefitted from being able to hone new skills that aren’t an option on grass. In the past, they’d practice at Cornell to prepare for away games on turf.

The players and head coach Tracey Houk are especially excited by the change of venue. “We’re ready to transition into a new era of field hockey,” says Houk. “We’re looking forward to taking our team onto that field and creating some great opportunities.”

CLICK THIS Get the latest scores at bombers.ithaca.edu.

fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu | winter 2011 • 5 fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu | winter 2011 • 5

WHAT’S ONLINE Did you know that fuse.ithaca.edu is updated with fresh web exclusives every week? Don’t miss these hot new features!

Visit fuse.ithaca.edu/tags/web_exclusive for all this and more!

The Ithaca College Bucket List MULTIMEDIA

ARTICLE

It’s never too early to start tackling all the (awesome) things that you need to do before graduation.

Take a road trip, act in a senior thesis film, go out on Cayuga Lake. Follow the senior Fuse staff as they attempt to cross each item off their lists before they end their final year in Ithaca.

The Park Scholar Award: The Opportunity of a Lifetime Passionate about communications, community service, leadership, and academics? Find out how those qualities could result in a full scholarship to IC’s Roy H. Park School of Communications.

Crank the Volume to Eleven BLOG

Ithaca has a vibrant and diverse local music scene, and Fuse has your backstage pass.

Applefest: Past and Present PHOTO GALLERY

A bright and crisp fall day, a cup of hot apple cider in hand, and tons of local crafts and food can only mean one thing—it’s time for Applefest! Check out images of this annual tradition.

Professor or Friend? Both.

ARTICLE

Former Fuse videographer Kyle Kelley ’10 reflects on his time spent with his film mentor—cinema and photography professor Changhee Chun.

Music: Faculty Profile

By Alexandra Evans ’13

Photo by Bill Truslow

&

Music professor Jeffery Meyer celebrates contemporary music in a city that loves classical

J

effery Meyer was a pianist living in Berlin, Germany, when he made connections through a friend to play a concert in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The opportunity fell through, but a subsequent conversation with his friend about St. Petersburg’s deeply rooted classical music scene and its lack of appreciation for modern composers compelled him to switch to conducting and head to the cultural capital of Russia to create a new chamber orchestra. Meyer wanted to form a group that was “dedicated to up-and-coming performers and composers,” he says. “To be a progressive voice in the culture.” And so, in 2002, Meyer founded the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic.

Last May, the orchestra performed pieces by Pärt, Shostakovich, Schnittke, and Lutoslawski in its New York City debut at the Wall to Wall Festival at Symphony Space, a free, daylong cultural gift to New Yorkers.

“A good majority of the musicians had never been outside Russia, let alone to New York, so just watching them absorb New York was incredibly fun,” says Meyer, who still serves as artistic director of the group. “We got a fantastic write-up in the New York Times. I couldn’t have dreamed that just eight years after we started we would find ourselves in a major performing venue in New York City being reviewed by the Times. It’s sort of stunning, and really quite gratifying.”

Two years ago, the IC community got in on the action when Meyer, now a professor of performance studies and director of orchestras at Ithaca College, brought a group of School of Music professors and students (called Kulmusik) to St. Petersburg to play with the orchestra.

“To see this non-Russian-speaking American student from Ithaca College next to a non-English-speaking Russian musician and have it work beautifully and seamlessly was something,” says Meyer.

Kate Goldstein ’09 was one of the students who played in St. Petersburg. “Meyer has a special way of helping students reach their career goals both inside and outside the classroom,” says Goldstein. “Through his guidance and expertise, I feel that I have the necessary skills to play in a professional orchestra one day.”

Cellist Tyler Borden ’11 adds, “He is always pushing us to the next level, and his depth of musicality makes him an influential presence in the music school as well as a large component of the rising quality here.” Meyer relishes the experiences he shares with his students: “To see them change over the four years, and to see them grow and to see them be moved by this music in a way that they weren’t before, is really Read more about Kulmusik’s quite extraordinary.” performance in Russia at fuse.ithaca.edu.

“Meyer has a special way of helping students reach their career goals both inside and outside the classroom.”

fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu | winter 2011 • 7

I

Communications: In Class

t ended with a rush. We were 26 future communications industry leaders, dressed in our best business-casual, hurrying

through downtown Manhattan. I remember the mounting excitement as we navigated construction sites, subway stations, and a maze of corporate skyscrapers to reach the Downtown Marriott on time. Our campaign for State Farm was finally complete, and we had precious little time to set up for the pitch.

Let’s back up to four months prior, when I decided to enroll in one of the most intense senior capstone courses in the Roy H. Park School of Communications. Ad Lab is Ithaca College’s version of boot camp for the annual National Student Advertising Competition, sponsored by the American Advertising Federation. Since 1973, one company has sponsored the competition every year, offering up its brand as the “client,” along with a unique brand challenge.

(Some past clients: Coca-Cola, AOL, Bank of America, and Pizza Hut.) Ad Lab teams compete against the best communications schools in the country for a shot at nationals.

An Ithaca College team has achieved the ultimate glory of “best in show” only once, with its campaign for auto manufacturer Saturn in 1993—but that hasn’t stopped us from passionately chasing the title every year since.

Most integrated marketing communications majors choose this capstone course because of its close similarity to the advertising world, where high-pressure situations and creative challenges abound. The course addresses all aspects of campaign development, including research, creative development, media buying, deck design, and presentation strategy. For students who want to become communications professionals, the benefits the course offers are immeasurable. Ad Lab is the ultimate simulation of a full-service ad agency, representing the culmination of four years’ worth of academic study, and a true test of resourcefulness, endurance, and skill. Sure, there is the potential to shamelessly build your résumé. But for true Ad Labbers, it’s more about the journey.

Our mini ad agency, which evolved over time into Vault Communications, was largely student-run. Professor Scott Hamula, our agency adviser, mostly left us to our own successes and failures, and we became more independent in our work as the semester progressed. We elected department directors on day one and formed committees of editors and designers along the way. I served as department director of account planning. I facilitated focus groups,

(and Women) of IC An inside look at Ad Lab, one of Ithaca College’s most intense capstone courses

Top: IC’s Ad Lab team after winning second place in their district.

Bottom: Professor Scott Hamula prepares students for the competition.

By Mallory Diamond ’10 Photos by Allison Usavage ’11 and courtesy of Mallory Diamond ’10

Ad Lab is the directed consumer research, wrote our creative brief, and hunted for key ultimate simulation insights to guide campaign developof a full-service ad ment. These initial efforts fueled a agency, representing small army of creative thinkers who, after setting up camp in a tiny room the culmination of four near the Park School and collectively years’ worth of academic consuming a huge amount of junk food, dreamt up brilliant ideas for our study, and a true test auto insurance client. of resourcefulness, Four long months of research, roadendurance, and blocks, game-changing ideas, revisions, team triumphs, late-night meetings, and even skill. later-night meetings carried us to the Big Apple as a team. In my biased opinion, we delivered a great pitch, but when the dust settled, we were awarded second place in our district. It was both a heartbreaking and proud moment for me and, I imagine, for my teammates. No matter the outcome, we all had a blast.

Ad Lab contributed hugely to landing my first job post-grad. I am currently the marketing coordinator at Partners + Napier, an independent, full-service ideas agency headquartered in Rochester, New York (the agency was recently named an Advertising Age Small Agency of the Year). Working on a great team in the pursuit of new business opportunities is still my biggest passion. I often think back to Ad Lab and everything it meant to helping me get where I am today, and everything it will come to mean as I continue in my career.

Let me conclude honestly, and with great fondness: Ad Lab is tough. But for the true ad geeks out there—the dreamers, the designers, the ones who start reading Nielsen ratings at the age of five—for the tenacious, inspired, heart-and-soul warriors of the ad world, there’s nothing else like it.

Shane Pisko ’10 practices his section of the State Farm pitch on campus in preparation for the regional competition.

Madison Tyler ’10 presents during a practice run-through for the competition.

The Campaign Ad Lab’s “Talk to My Agent” campaign for State Farm focused on reaching 18- to 25-year-old consumers. The fully integrated campaign featured pop culture–themed ads in multiple media channels, including print, television, online, branded events, and mobile apps, and encouraged consumers to get their own State Farm agent for matchless customer service.

To see if a career in advertising is for you, visit www.ithaca.edu/rhp/depts/stratcomm/programs/imc. fuse| fuse.ithaca.edu | fuse.ithaca.edu||winter winter 2011 • 9 fuse

Campus Life

IC is rich with resources for LGBT students

By Catherine Kirchhoff ’11, Heather Mueller ’11, and ByAndrew Catherine Kirchhoff Whitson ’11 ’11, Heather Mueller ’11,by and Andrew Whitson Compiled Meghan Swope ’11 ’11 Compiled

by Meghan Swope ’11 Photographs

by Lauren DeCicca’11, Daniel Sitts ’12 Photographs by Colleen Cunha ’13, Lauren DeCicca ’11, Mathea Millman ’13, and Daniel Sitts ’12

“I remember how incredible it felt to hear those stories from people just like me who didn’t have a safe space or community at home.”

Students attend a Created Equal meeting.

A poster from Created Equal, the most politically active of IC’s LGBT organizations.

W

hen I originally sent in my deposit to Ithaca College, I had no idea if I was making the right choice. Now, I can’t imagine who or where I’d be if I hadn’t chosen to come here.

If I’d gone somewhere else, I wholeheartedly feel that I wouldn’t be in a place where it’s okay to explore your sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender presentation the way you can at Ithaca. Our campus is truly lucky to have four LGBT student organizations, an LGBT Resource Center with a fantastic director, and an option for LGBT housing.

People may not realize that this is not the case at other colleges. —Catherine Kirchhoff ’11 Kirchhoff knows what the nation now knows about Ithaca College, since it was recently recognized by the Campus Climate Index for being one of the most LGBT-friendly campuses in the country, earning a five-star rating.

“I came to Itha- Steven Tropiano, program dica from a conserva- rector of the Ithaca College L.A. program, was this year’s Native high school,” tional Coming Out Day speaker. recalls Dan Weller He discussed how changes in the media landscape have im’12. “But when I pacted the LGBT community. got here I wasn’t the only gay kid in class anymore. I have even had the chance to explore my development as a gay person through several of my writing assignments for class.” This kind of acceptance isn’t the exception on Ithaca’s campus, it’s the rule—and several student-led organizations contribute significantly to the College’s LGBT-friendly atmosphere.

Alliance of Gay and Straight Student Athletes The Alliance of Gay and Straight Student Athletes is a new organization centering on the issues LGBT athletes and their teammates face. “I’m really excited to see what can happen both now and in the future as a result of our efforts,” member Andrew Whitson ’11 says. He has also written an essay about his personal experiences as a gay athlete throughout his life, an essay that he went on to present at Ithaca College’s Sport Sexuality and Culture conference. “Overall, as a gay athlete, I have had a very positive experience at Ithaca College,” he says. “I have been on the club volleyball team for four years and all of the other players have been really supportive. Many have even had healthy discussions about their backgrounds and the questions they might have.”

Created Equal As the LGBT advocacy group on campus, Created Equal is the most politically active of the LGBT organizations. “Created Equal has a reputation of rising up when there is a social or political issue relating to the LGBT community,” explains Whitson, copresident of the organization. “In the past few years, we’ve led participation in creating a memorial cemetery in honor of Matthew Shepard, a demonstration against discriminatory laws around the world, the Day of Silence, and many others.”

Spectrum’s logo plays off the gay pride symbol.

House of Roy Living and Learning Community In the spring semester of her sophomore year, Catherine Kirchhoff was elected president of Prism (see next page), and it was through that experience that she recognized the College’s need for LGBT housing. It took nearly two years, but the House of Roy Living and Learning Community opened its doors this fall in Eastman Hall. As a residential learning community, students are strongly encouraged to participate in programs such as the LGBT film series, a prom, a potluck dinner with other groups on campus, and guest speaker presentations on a variety of LGBT issues.

fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu | winter 2011 • 11

Campus Life Prism Students looking to make Ithaca College a safe space can turn to Prism. Open to everyone and offering social and community-building activities, as well as educational programming, Prism also sponsors Zap! Panels, which are discussions that give students an opportunity to learn about the broad range of experiences that LGBT individuals face.

“They can also be a medium for raising questions and discussion that many students may not have experienced in their classes or everyday lives,” says Whitson. “For example, a student who may have come from a very conservative area of this country might have never had the opportunity to meet or talk to an out LGBT person. This takes the label away and gives them real people to associate with the broad range of all things LGBT.”

Spectrum “Spectrum is a social discussion group for people who are attracted to the person and not the gender, whether they are bisexual, pansexual, sexually fluid, questioning, or bicurious,” explains Heather Mueller ’11, the founder and president of Spectrum. “After spending a whole year at Ithaca, I was really frustrated about meeting people in the LGBT community,” Mueller explains. “I felt a lack of community for bisexuality and like I didn’t fit in, even with such a great presence of LGBT activities, clubs, and events on campus.”

Mueller created Spectrum after talking to Lis Maurer, program director of the Center for LGBT Education, Outreach, and Services. “After Spectrum discussion groups, I’ve had many people come to me and say that our discussions helped them realize just how many stereotypes and myths affect the lives of people who identify as bisexual. It felt good to hear people of all orientations express how one discussion helped change their opinions about bisexuality.”

Top: House of Roy resident Shae Varmette ’14 (left) and friend Alyssa Locke assemble buttons for National Coming Out Day. Bottom: Students relax in Muller Chapel for the LGBT event Chocolate in the Chapel.

The Center for LGBT Education, Outreach, and Services The LGBT Center is open to everyone and offers many resources and services: • a resource room with books, videos, periodicals, and computer stations • educational presentations and training workshops on a large variety of LGBT issues, encompassing LGBT 101, history, health care, reaching out to LGBT students, and much more • referrals, resources, and information on LGBT issues and concerns • campus-wide LGBT-themed education programs and social events, including speakers, a film series, and Gaypril, LGBT Awareness month • brochures and pamphlets that address issues and concerns of LGBT people, their families, and allies • information for incoming students and their families

More Resources Ithaca College’s LGBT community doesn’t end here. There are tons of other LGBT resources on our campus. “I remember how incredible it felt to hear those stories from people just like me who didn’t have a safe space or community at home,” says Created Equal copresident Devon Ritz ’12. “Now I go into every situation with the hopes that any student of any background can see that there are people who not only understand them, but who love them and want their voices to be heard.”

For more on the LGBT Resource Center, LGBT program director Lis Maurer, and additional organizations on campus, check out fuse.ithaca.edu.

Dollars for Scholars

Need a little help with your future tuition payment? Don’t miss out on these scholarship opportunities!

• Ithaca Leadership Scholarship • Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Program • Park Scholar Award

Mark your calendar—the deadline to apply is January 15.

Learn more by clicking the scholarship tab at my.ithaca.edu.

NOW PLAYING AT

Local Scene

THE BEST INDEPENDENT MOVIES, DOCUMENTARIES, AND FOREIGN FILMS

By Alyssa Figueroa ’12 Photographs by Martha Pace

I

n many cities, watching documentaries or independent films means sitting in a university lecture hall or a decrepit movie house. Ithaca used to be no exception. But in June 2009 the nonprofit independent movie theater Cinemapolis moved to a new five-screen space and really polished up their look—a true revamp from the underground, two-screen theater that had been located in an alleyway in downtown since 1986.

Cinemapolis features short films, independent films, and documentaries.

Yet independent doesn’t always mean obscure. The theater showed Oscar-winning films Crazy Heart and Precious.

Lynne Cohen, cofounder of Cinemapolis, is passionate about independent films. “The way Hollywood films are made is not so conducive to individuals’

expression,” she says. “It’s more conducive to groups of businesspeople deciding what’s going to sell. Showing independent films is important because it’s where individuals express themselves and reach out to viewers.”

Siobhan Cavanagh ’12 loves Cinemapolis, not only for the movies but for the community conversation series.

“It is nice to see a film and discuss it with other people who are also thinking critically about the film,” says Cavanagh.

“You get perspectives from people who are different ages, in different social situations, and are different nationalities.” Leading these discussions are experts, often Ithaca College or Cornell University professors, and sometimes even the film’s producers or directors.

Another draw is Cinemapolis’s nontraditional refreshment stand. Sure, they serve candy and soda, but the popcorn is made with real butter, and you can add extras like Parmesan cheese or curry powder. Plus, they serve Purity ice cream, a local favorite, and homemade desserts such as brownies and sherry cake.

But it’s the peaceful, cozy, inviting atmosphere that makes the new Cinemapolis so special. “It is more intimate and feels much more familiar,” Cavanagh says. “Big theaters lose that and often feel very detached. Cinemapolis has an Ithaca atmosphere—that artsy, indie, grassroots feeling.”

Cinemapolis has that artsy, indie, grassroots feeling.

Cinemapolis and FLEFF IC’s Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival (FLEFF) has long teamed up with Cinemapolis to screen movies downtown. An annual international, interdisciplinary multimedia festival, FLEFF invites many independent artists to Ithaca to engage with students, faculty, and the public. See what’s playing at www.ithaca.edu/ fleff.

Check out what’s playing at Cinemapolis at www.cinemapolis.org. fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu | winter 2011 • 13

RUNNING THE Business: Internships

A cross-country athlete and accounting major finds the perfect opportunity in downtown Ithaca

By Brian Keefe ’11 Photographs by Jacob Lifschultz ’13 and Mathea Millman ’13

A typical day at the office provides lessons in accounting, store management techniques, and a few tales from Ithaca cross-country back in the ’90s.

E NUMBERS I

t’s not just girls who are obsessed with shoes.

Speak to any of my teammates on the Ithaca College men’s cross-country team and you will hear all about trail shoes, road flats, spikes, and why our favorite brand is better than yours. But no crosscountry saga would be complete without somewhere to acquire all of the latest and greatest in running gear, and that’s where the Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Company (FLRTC) comes in. With shelves lined with shoes, a floor dotted with snazzy new triathlon bikes, and tons of locally owned flavor, the store is a runner’s dream. As an accounting major, though, the business has recently taken on a whole new meaning for me.

While on the prowl for a part-time job that would combine my major with my passion for running, I wandered into the FLRTC looking for a run-of-the-mill sales position. But after reviewing my résumé, Ian Golden ’99 unexpectedly made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Organizing the company’s finances, making inventory projections, talking with professional accountants, and analyzing account ledgers were all part of the job description.

To sweeten the deal even further, I’d get to work in a setting that I love and with coworkers I could relate to.

Working alongside Golden, himself a former IC crosscountry runner, is a lot like working alongside a really experienced teammate. Since he’s got two NCAA AllAmerican cross-country titles under his belt, the level of intimidation runs high, but his knowledge of and passion for the sport make the work environment unassumingly educational. A typical day at the office provides lessons in accounting, store management techniques, and a few tales from Ithaca cross-country back in the ’90s (something they skip in the classroom and on the trails).

When I’m not loading account information into QuickBooks and inputting transaction details, I’m learning the finer points of sales from some very dedicated staff members. Much of my work is geared toward forming a new accounting system more applicable to the business structure, which means analyzing past inventory levels and sales figures. After I find sales

g trends, the store can h local b Learninin o rience wit a J e p e x e h order inventory based on t g st On e gett Here’s ju e only on historical season estito school. king g r I’m not th in o o w g s e r il e es wh iness pe mates instead of waiting s u B f o business l o f my Scho until the current stock sample o arketing: : a c ent and m a h m e It g d a runs low. With so much n n u a aro ’11, m elsenthal different merchandise • Allison F lman Real Estate e offered, inventory projecAudrey Ed ’10, finance: er n o o p gement S tions mean a lot more than n • Ia eting: alth Mana e W s e k t and mark a n e m e crunching numbers. Studyg a Finger L man e biano ’11, Commerc ing customer buying trends amber of • Sean Fa h ess C in s ty u n b u l o C rnationa and new product releases te Tompkins in , 2 ’1 r O’Leary are two other tasks not to be • Jennife eting: overlooked. and mark lliance iness: n Ithaca A tional bus a Being an integral part of rn Downtow te in , 2 Erdahl ’1 such a lively and interactive • Katrina ncy: uche o T d al accounta n a business has given me a very profession Deloitte , 1 ’1 .A .B n Yoo, M hands-on approach to learnredit Unio • Joesung Federal C s ng: e ti v n ti u a o c rn ing. With more than 14 races Alte ’11, ac e e rz on e D n k Va e Mic els and events organized by the • Wyndie agen Littl h rs te ie D store every year, there is a lot to Ciaschi ants) d consult arketing: be done each day to ensure that (CPAs an nes ’11, m ns o J th e b a everything comes together. After • Eliz Desig n Jewelry years of being just another runner, Debra An nting: u o c c a al ’11, having a role behind the scenes • David G lar ng: Silicon So has opened a whole new world. , accounti udson ’13 H a c c e b Seeing an entrepreneurial • Re ement: lar 1, manag Silicon So ’1 success story firsthand has been i s le o rt dra Po an incredible learning experience.

• Alessan th Avenue if F s Sak I’m sure I’m not the only person who thought accounting majors were doomed to life in a cubicle, but Golden has certainly proved that I could—and should—change that mind-set. He graduated with a master’s degree in occupational therapy, so his small business management skills were acquired by—well, starting and owning and running a small business. Since I’m already studying the business side of things, it seems my career is limited only by my creativity.

The author hits the trails for a run and analyzes sales figures.

Near left: Owner Ian Golden ’99

For more about Ian Golden ’99 and the Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Company, go to fuse.ithaca.edu.

checks the inventory.

fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu | winter 2011 • 15

Krick ’13 mpions Kathryn ott Hall ha c st e t on c dorm their Tallc ller ’13 painted fice of Residential e F e nn a i ul J and Of okay with the t Res Life to get ac double pink . It’s t on c your room Life to paint d , t he n pa in t a w a y. ove the color appr

Campus Life

MOST ED R O GANIZ

single by erraces ybe she could T r e h ! Ma ost of m es the m l has tons of style life to your dor k a m 0 ‘1 l i e ld t m s e i s o w s f t o I e ll . a dd ak ed Ashley W neat and organiz a great way to a Residential Life while k s i f c t i o lu h s g i e n i ffic et f keep out of ? The O iend? A p s, you’re add a fr e . The best part og and cat lover spac . rry, d them ! So u live in the dorms yo

FUNNIEST

Sheraz Iqbal ’ 12 happens to have both the funniest room who could compete with Superman and Batman gear and a SpongeBob pillow? and the most famous room at Ithaca.

He and his Clarke Hall room were pictured last spring in a article about dormitories that have earned the Energy Star label. IC claims two, Clarke and Hood, and has submitted an application for a third.

Daniel and Julie Becke most organiz “If I could give recommend usin entire feel of th much more w less —J

AMAZING SPA Our Fuse dorm contest winners did some extreme makeovers

By Lauren Hesse ’11 Photographs by Jacob Lifschultz ’13, Michelle Montgomery ’12, Daniel Sitts ’12, and Martha Pace

MOST TECHIE

T

PINKES

Students look in of Sean Jac g for some friendly Xbox obs ‘12 . Fully competition he equi of spots for a prime viewing , pped with snacks, enterta d to the super tricked ou games or wat his room is the t room inment console ch movies or, s, of course, sp perfect place to hang ou and plenty orts ! t and play vid eo

lle West ’13 er ’13 (runners-up for zed and best layout) e one tip, I’d definitely ng a rug. It changes the he room and makes it welcoming and much

BEST LAYOUT

s dormish.”

Julie Becker

ACES

The key to successful dor m decorating is compromise. students this is the first For many time living with a roommate and the first time decorating a roo Learn more about residential m from scratch, so it is ess collaborate. Lindsay Harr ential to life at IC at op ‘13 and Kim Reitas ‘13 know that combining pictures of frie www.ithaca.edu/reslife. nds and family can make a room feel like home. And raising your bed adds extra storage space. fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu | winter 2011 • 17

H&S and HSHP: In the Field

Faculty and students across disciplines combine efforts to help children with motor disabilities

By Conor Harrington ’13 Photographs by Michelle Montgomery ’12, Daniel Sitts ’12, Allison Usavage ’11, and courtesy of Carole Dennis

T

here is a room in the Center for Health Sciences that has mechanical robots, a Wii balance board, and, sometimes, tiny tykes motoring around.

This unlikely combination is the basis for a collaborative research project among three Ithaca College faculty members.

Sharon Stansfield (computer science), Carole Dennis (occupational therapy), and Helene Larin (physical therapy) are developing a device that will aid children with physical impairments or developmental delays to move freely and explore their surroundings.

After spending years in the professional field, Professor Dennis had good reason to get involved with the project. “I’ve had lots of experience with little kids,” she says, “and I’ve been frustrated that the technology didn’t exist to allow kids with severe motor disabilities to be able to explore their environment.”

The prototype the team has created consists of a baby seat affixed to a Wii balance board and a basic robot. As the baby leans in the seat, the software recognizes the movements and propels the baby through the environment.

The device is also equipped with sonar in order to sense objects in its path so as to avoid crashes.

Initial tests involved three healthy infants ranging in age from six to eight months. The researchers hope to develop the apparatus to provide mobility to infants as young as four months old.

Infants diagnosed with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and other impairments will participate in future testing of the device.

There is a reason why this device needs to be accessible to children of varying ages, says Professor Dennis. “If you don’t learn something during what’s called a critical period in life, you will never relearn to do it as well later,” she explains.

“Babies who aren’t mobile actually don’t develop cognitively and socially as well,” adds Professor Stansfield.

A handful of Ithaca College students got the opportunity to assist in this research project.

Occupational therapy major Lauren Cresser ’11 has worked on the project for a year now and says that the most exciting part was when she got to work with the infants on the actual robots. This interactive learning process is what she thrives on as an occupational therapy student. “It has been good to learn the many different disciplines and problemsolving skills involved,” she says.

Professor Dennis stresses the importance of this project as a learning tool for students. “Within the course of the year, they will have the chance to analyze and publish their research,” she says. “The professional development aspect is enough.”

Madeline Smith ’10 was one of the students who published a paper about her research and even presented it on behalf of the College last June at a conference in Las Vegas. “Presenting my work as an undergraduate was a great experience, and one that has prepared me for graduate school,” she says.

Smith even wrote some of the software that runs the robot using data from the Wii. “It was really exciting to see all the work that we had put in come to life and actually work!”

Although this project has a few more years of research and testing, Professor Dennis is optimistic. “If we could even allow a few kids who haven’t been able to move the opportunity to move, that would be wonderful,” she says.

So, maybe encouraging the use of video game consoles at a young age is a good thing. Just ask one of the test subjects. Although they may not be quick to answer. They still need to learn to talk, too!

Studying Isn’t Just for Students Babies driving robots is only one of the many faculty research projects currently under way at IC. Here is what a few of our professors are working on.

Chemistry professor Akiko Fillinger and biochemistry graduate Sarah Fields ’10 have been investigating metal oxide printing patterns in an effort to formulate effective material for solarto-electricity conversion.

Music theory professor John W. White analyzes popular music “covers” within a framework of semiotical style change. He recently presented a paper examining Joni Mitchell’s 2000 reworking of her eponymous hit tune from the album Both Sides Now (Reprise) in comparison to her original recorded version from 1969.

Physics professor Luke Keller does ongoing research in imaging and spectroscopic instrumentation and in the astrophysics of star formation and planetary system formation. You can read more about his project at www.ithaca.edu/icview.

Above: Kelsey Baker, M.S. ’11, gets the baby to reach forward and trigger the robot to move. Top left: Lauren Cresser ’11 adjusts equipment on the robot. Top right: Maribeth Hirschey, M.S. ’11, and computer science professor Sharon Stansfield observe the baby in action.

Check out video of the project in action at fuse.ithaca.edu. fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu | winter 2011 • 19

Internships

W

H

I

S

T

O

R

How my internships guided me to a career in museums

By Casey Lewis ’08 Photographs by Allison Usavage ’11

Top and right: After graduating from IC, the author worked with artifacts as a curator for the Chemung Valley Museum in Elmira, New York. Below: Archivist Donna Eschenbrenner at the History Center of Tompkins County.

hen I started at Ithaca as a journalism People would come in looking for information on their major, I was certain that I wanted to ancestors; others wanted to know about the city’s be a reporter for some famous news street system; some were interested in local Native outlet. But I also loved history, so I deAmerican connections. The more I helped people, the cided to add it as a second major. Come to think of it, the more I learned about Tompkins County. Independent of two aren’t so different—both are about telling stories. my classes, I even did my own research project on the During my junior year, a semester in Washington, D.C., founders of Ithaca College which resulted in an article and an internship at the Smithsonian opened my eyes to in the Ithaca Journal, the local newspaper. a way of telling stories I hadn’t considered before:

Digging through musty old piles of the world of museums. papers, journals, diaries, and ledgers Back at Ithaca, I looked for local is not for everyone, but I loved it.

Places opportunities in the museum field. My Everyone has a story. I once got to adviser suggested the History Center like the History delve into the diaries of a man of Tompkins County, and soon I who lived in Ithaca in the late Center ensure that was working as their archives 1800s to find snippets about stories are passed to intern. Did you know that metal the winter weather in Ithaca. the next generation, and paper clips and staples are quite I found that it was cold and it is critical to have such damaging to paper because they snowy back then too, but he a repository, along with rust over time? Or that light and describes getting around in acidity gradually fade and destroy an open sleigh. Even if we’ve knowledgeable staff paper artifacts? While working on seen pictures of this, it becomes and people willing collections new to the museum, I easier to imagine when we to help out. spent many hours pulling out metal can read about it in the diaries of staples and paper clips and replacing someone who lived it. them with plastic ones, then storing the Places like the History Center ensure artifacts in acid-free folders within acid-free boxes. that those stories are passed to the next generaOne of the more interesting parts of processing a tion, and it is critical to have such a repository, along new collection is evaluating what the original owner with knowledgeable staff and people willing to help wanted to convey by leaving it behind. I looked at how out. After graduation I worked as the curator for the documents were arranged to see if that yielded any Chemung Valley History Museum in Elmira, New York, clues. I took careful stock of the files, folders, and boxes and am currently working on my master’s degree in case they provided a missing piece of the puzzle. Often in history museum studies at the Cooperstown it was what I couldn’t easily see that allowed me to make Graduate Program. With my IC education, sense of a story. I discovered this while scrutinizing internships, work experience, and romantic letters from the Victorian era. Back then, the graduate studies, I’m heading man was supposed to do the courting, while the woman toward my ultimate career gently encouraged him with her words or gestures—and goal—to go back to the it would’ve been improper for her to do any more than Smithsonian, this time that. The correspondence between two lovers rarely as a curator. states outright the feelings of attraction and tension in a courtship, but reading between the lines tells a completely different story.

My internship wasn’t all about handling artifacts.

I also helped History Center patrons with their research.

I learned to use the online database and cross-reference it with the paper database, which was more complete.

Y

Interning at the Smithsonian I worked in the public affairs office at the National Museum of American History but also spent a fair amount of my time helping the curators with media tours, press releases, and special events. I was fortunate enough to help with the packing and rehousing of artifacts, since the museum was preparing for an extensive renovation project. This was the first time I really got to touch history; holding objects worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, or those that were priceless to the families that donated them, was overwhelming.

Learn more about Tompkins County at www.thehistorycenter.net.

fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu| |winter winter 2011 2011 • 21 fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu

Student Clubs and Organizations

By Mia Jackson ’11 and Danielle Paccione ’10 Photographs by Allison Usavage ’11

So you think you can dance, or do you just want to try? IC boasts a number of dance clubs for everyone to get their groove on.

Rock Hard Dance Company This coed group not only spends rehearsal time learning choreography but also helps its members improve technique and expand their repertoire. “We all have a lot to learn from one another,” says former Rock Hard artistic director Megan Mizanty ’10.

They incorporate contemporary ballet, hip-hop, modern dance, and their own unique styles in their performances at campus events such as Family Weekend, the AIDS Ride for Life, Alumni and Homecoming Weekend, and guest performances with fellow student dance organization IC Unbound. Practice is led by a different company member each week, and everyone contributes to the choreography of their final showcase at the end of the year.

IC Breakers Each semester, the veteran members of IC Breakers encourage students to join them in sharing new moves while developing and showing off their individual styles. Previous break-dancing experience is “always a plus,” says former member Ian Turner ’10, “but we definitely get newcomers who have zero experience,” making IC Breakers both a learning and teaching environment. “We are structured very loosely and like to joke around,” Turner says, describing the tight-knit group as “more like a family and less like a rigid organization.”

Turner says their annual break-dancing competition at the end of the spring semester is a large accomplishment for a small organization “because it deals with sponsorship, contacting b-boys [male break-dancers], and getting reputable judges.”

IC Ballroom Dancing with the Stars fans get their turn in the spotlight with IC Ballroom, a lesson-based and competitive dance organization. The club is broken up into two sections: students who teach ballroom dance, and those on the team, which trains for competitions and is a subdivision of the club. Former president Katie Crutchfield ’10 worked with both parts of IC Ballroom all four years and helped create a partnership with Cornell University to host the Cayuga DanceSport Challenge. Last year’s event drew teams from 16 other schools, including the

“We provide an outlet for personal expression and interaction with others who share a love of dance, and to unify without a competitive nature.”

Dance Classes at IC

If you’ve always wanted to take dance classes, now’s your chance! Here’s a sampling of courses from the Department of Theatre Arts, which also offers a minor in dance. To find out more, go to www.ithaca.edu/hs/depts/theatre.

Introduction to Dance: Survey of the varied forms and styles of theatrical dance. Lecture, discussion, and film viewing provide a fundamental understanding of the development of dance forms and a foundation for evaluation and criticism of dance performance.

Jazz Dance: Introductory analysis and practice of jazz dance for theater performance. Students develop an understanding of fundamental jazz movement principles.

Ballet: Basic ballet technique and terminology. Development of body awareness, elasticity, and rhythmic sense.

Modern Dance: Introductory course for the student with little or no previous dance experience. Designed to develop an appreciation for the art form and a proficiency in beginning modern dance techniques.

Tap Dance: Beginning-level course in tap dance techniques and terminology with an introduction to tap dance history in stage and film.

University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and New York University.

Says Crutchfield: “We offer a place to learn, socialize, and just enjoy the art of dance and movement.”

This year, the two schools once again hosted the challenge, this time at IC’s Hill Center Gymnasium. The competition featured a show by professional Latin dancers Nikolai Shpakov and Tatiana Banko.

IC Unbound The largest dance club on campus, with about 70 participants each semester, IC Unbound supports every style of dance, including jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, contemporary, and ballet. The student-choreographed shows at the end of each semester are a must-see, where during a showcase a dancer may go from a tap number straight to a hip-hop routine. Students join the company by choreographing at least one piece, and members participate in at least five routines each semester. Dancers of every skill level are welcomed, says publicity chair Liz Cronin ’11.

“Our mission at IC Unbound is to hold public dance performances that provide an outlet for personal expression and interaction with others who share a love of dance, and to unify without a competitive nature.”

Krissy Roth ’10 of IC Breakers busts a move.

Meléna Brown ’10 (left) and Ae-Sil Woo ’13 of IC Muevete strike a pose.

Laura Kathrein ’12 (left) and Megan Mizanty ’10 of Rock Hard Dance Company show off their dance skills.

Learn more about other dance clubs on campus at fuse.ithaca.edu. fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu | winter 2011 • 23

featured photo

Lead singer and guitarist Kevin Drew of the Canadian band Broken Social Scene rocked Ithaca’s State Theatre in September.

Photo by Lauren DeCicca ’11

Ithaca at a Glance Ithaca offers a first-rate education on a first-name basis. Learn what you love from stellar faculty; start a club, intern at your dream job, or spend a semester halfway around the world—whatever course you set, you’ll love what you do. At Ithaca you’ll have lots of choices and plenty of opportunities to find your passion in life.

LOCATION

FACULTY

PROGRAMS OF STUDY

In the center of the Finger Lakes region of New York State, our modern campus is 60 miles north of Binghamton and 60 miles south of Syracuse.

The city of Ithaca is home to about 47,000 residents and neighboring Cornell University.

461 full-time faculty and 241 part-time faculty

With more than 100 degree programs to choose from, Ithaca has something for everyone. To learn more about the different schools and the majors they offer, visit the websites below. A complete list of majors can be found on the admission website at www.ithaca.edu/admission/programs.

STUDENT BODY

6,450 undergraduates and 500 graduate students from 49 states, 4 U.S. territories, and 78 countries.

Over 70 percent of students live on Ithaca’s hilltop campus, which overlooks Cayuga Lake.

STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO

12 to 1 ACADEMIC PROFILE

The high school average of most admitted students ranges from B+ to A. APPLICATION DEADLINE

Freshman applications for fall admission are due February 1.

SCHOOL

STUDENT ENROLLMENT SCHOOL HOMEPAGE

School of Business Roy H. Park School of Communications School of Health Sciences and Human Performance School of Humanities and Sciences School of Music Division of Interdisciplinary and International Studies

650

www.ithaca.edu/business

1,450

www.ithaca.edu/rhp

1,350

www.ithaca.edu/hshp

2,300 550

www.ithaca.edu/hs www.ithaca.edu/music

150

www.ithaca.edu/diis

For details about Ithaca’s application process, financial aid, tuition, and more, please visit www.ithaca.edu/admission.

DID YOU KNOW?

ITHACA WAS RECENTLY RANKED THE #1 BEST COLLEGE TOWN WITH A POPULATION UNDER 250,000.

OFFICE OF ADMISSION Ithaca College 953 Danby Road Ithaca, NY 14850-7002 800-429-4274 or 607-274-3124 www.ithaca.edu fuse | fuse.ithaca.edu | winter 2011 • 25

Office of Admission Ithaca College 953 Danby Road Ithaca, NY 14850-7002 800-429-4274 607-274-3124 www.ithaca.edu

Get the inside scoop on Ithaca.

CHECK OUT: www.ithaca.edu

CHECK IN: my.ithaca.edu

Fuse is a green publication. Read it and recycle it. Or better yet—share it with a friend!

FUSE uses 21,684 lbs of paper that has a postconsumer recycled percentage of 30 percent; 55 trees preserved for the future • 23,212 gallons wastewater flow saved • 2,568 lbs solid waste not generated • 5,057 lbs of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases prevented • 38,705,940 BTUs energy not consumed • 18,386 miles of automobile travel saved • The equivalent of 1,623 trees planted. The inks contain 27% renewable resources.