Opinion

Christa Nunez & the Learning Farm’s after school program

By Marjorie Z. Olds

In the beautiful town of Ithaca, Christa Núñez is savoring a resplendent late autumn, as kids romp around the Learning Farm, brushing a well-loved goat, sheep or bunny. Unbeknownst to us, Christa is building a blueprint to connect us all to the wonders of the natural world. “Everything we do on the Farm, we bring to schools,” she said. “School children at Enfield Elementary School are experiencing what life on the farm is like: learning, growing, eating, discussing how best to grow food and co-create healthy communities together through what we are calling the Equitable and Edible Farm School.”

At the Learning Farm, children from kindergarten through high school are seamlessly connected to the biodiverse, vibrant work of nature. And the same vibrancy is accessed on school grounds just down the road in Enfield. “Fruits and vegetables are planted, and

devoured, beloved animals are brushed and fed, cleaned and cared for,” Chrisa said. “Our healthy plants, our trees, the waterfall and pond…We use outdoor spaces to create a fun, healthy model for communities and schools to bridge the gap between experience and education. It is where real learning begins.” “We are in our second year at Enfield Elementary School where we are thrilled to be piloting our student learning program. Principal Keith Harrington, Assistant Principal Aileen Christa Nunez Grainger, and [Ithaca City School District’s Equity and Inclusion Officer] Mary Grover are key players in this vibrant partnership. We figure out each step together. Keith and I wrote our latest grant for the ever-generous Park Foundation. Enfield teachers are on board continued on page 7

Causes of Crime

By Stephen Burke

People are alarmed, and should be, about the recent spate of shootings and stabbings in Ithaca. What they shouldn’t be is unduly afraid, or unconstructively unfocused.

In a front page story for the Ithaca Times last week, Bill Chaisson reported, “Since the end of September, it seems like there’s been a shooting or stabbing once a week, often more, and sometimes more than once a day.” He cites eight such incidents.

An important point is that, pending official investigation and comment, it seems most if not all of the incidents were between people who knew one another and were acting violently in personal disputes, mostly related to drug trade. None of the acts involved business stickups or house break-ins or indiscriminate criminal activities such as those.

Of course, the danger and fear engendered by such public acts of violence are real and should not be downplayed. One shooting was at a gas station and an empty parked motor coach was struck. Another on a downtown street reportedly struck a parked school bus with its driver inside.

Ithaca’s mayor, Svante Myrick, ostensibly means only to reflect reality and not dismiss concern when, as Chaisson reports, he “characterize[s] the violenceprone criminals of Ithaca as ‘knuckleheads.’” The slang term can possibly best be defined, in this context, as dangerous idiots rather than cogent or professional criminals, though no less worthy of capture and punishment.

Meanwhile, Chaisson reports, a November press release by the Ithaca Police Benevolent Association “called Myrick an ‘anti-police activist’ and blamed the current violence on ‘a decade of police cuts.’” Clearly the political battle lines are drawn.

Ithaca is a liberal town. But more conservative cities in the area, never mistaken as hotbeds of anti-police activism, have violent crime rates that are worse. Chaisson cites figures showing that Elmira, 40 miles from Ithaca, has a higher violent crime rate despite its smaller size. Jamestown, about 200 miles southwest of Ithaca, is smaller than Ithaca but has double the violent crime rate.

Decades ago, before relocating to Ithaca, I Iived in Washington DC, then New Orleans, in the middle of the crack cocaine era with its attendant violence. Frequently I had to explain to visitors and outsiders that the danger was not widespread: Stay away from where drugs are dealt and you won’t have much to worry about.

When I relocated to Ithaca I noted the lack of crime. “We have crime,” one resident replied, somewhat aghast at the appraisal. I said of course there are incidents of crime here, like anywhere, but not epidemic or pervasive.

Referring to Washington and New Orleans, I said there are places there I did not feel safe alone or at night; I don’t feel like that anywhere or at any time in Ithaca.

Recent events might change that for some. You don’t want to feel like you have to be on your guard at a gas station or Walmart (where a stabbing occurred here last month). You don’t want to hear about a school bus being struck by a bullet, empty of children or not, nor about shelter in place orders for schools while police are chasing armed suspects.

Still, Ithaca seems a strong, safe place. For twenty years I’ve lived in Southside, Ithaca’s most demographically diverse neighborhood. I’ve never encountered a feeling of separation or rancor from anyone: never a cross word, a glaring glance, certainly never a threat. Residents value stability, peace and sociability. The same seems true throughout the city.

Somewhat surprising amidst all the trouble is the relative lack of dialogue about the need for greater gun control. Usually this is a point of agreement for police and progressives. Maybe talk will turn that way once passions and political posturing have abated.

More talk and action are also needed about the scourge of drug use. The opioid crisis started by Purdue Pharma and other corporations twenty years ago, as they knowingly addicted millions to their products, created a criminal market for their illicit sale and a new market for heroin and fentanyl to the addicted. The markets tend to be violent.

Over half a million people in the U.S. have died from opioids in the past twenty years. Their use has devastated countless lives and communities and created rampant crime. The corporate drug dealers didn’t need guns, just compliant doctors and lawyers, and none have gone to jail.

In his Ithaca Times article, Chaisson noted that “incidence of crimes often associated with drug use - because addicts need cash - are up sharply” in Ithaca. “Property crimes like Burglary went from 50 in 2019 to 143 arrests last year, and Larceny went from 758 to 1019.”

Meanwhile, treatment programs are prohibitively expensive for many, when available at all.

Beyond our fear of violent crime, attention must turn to its causes, thus possible solutions.