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Ithaca College students walk out in protest of school president

Solvejg Wastvedt
/
WSKG News
Ithaca College students walked out today to protest inaction by the school's president regarding racial incidents on campus.

Students at Ithaca College gathered Wednesday to demand the resignation of their college president. They say he has a long history of unresponsiveness to racial incidents.

Credit Solvejg Wastvedt / WSKG News
/
WSKG News

Sophomore Isabella Grullon said the college president needs to deal with the situation head-on. "We want answers, and at the end of every time that we end up talking to him we just get more questions," she said.

Chanting "Tom Rochon…no confidence," hundreds of students laid down on sidewalks across the Ithaca College quad. They’re angry over Rochon’s failure to act on a string of racial incidents, including offensive comments by an alumnus at a recent college event.

Grullon says she’s lost patience. Students will vote “confidence” or “no confidence” in the president on November 30. The faculty council plans to hold its own vote. It hasn’t set a date yet.

Solvejg Wastvedt grew up in western Pennsylvania and graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Over the summer, she served in Los Angeles as an intern on NPR's National Desk. Plus, before coming to Upstate New York, Solvejg worked at the Minneapolis community radio station KFAI. When she isn't reporting the news, Solvejg enjoys running and exploring hiking trails.