Welcome Home, Class of 2028

By Patrick Bohn, September 6, 2024

A week of programs on campus and beyond ensures a dynamic—and sustainable—launch for IC’s newest class.

The start of the academic year meant a new crop of students were welcomed to South Hill.

(Photo by Jennifer King MacKenzie)

The IC community welcomed the Class of 2028, arriving to campus from 41 states and 19 countries, and worked diligently to ensure the new class feels empowered to embrace this year’s theme of sustainability in all its forms as they traverse the 2024-25 academic year together.

For most, sustainability is tied closely to the environment and our role in ensuring that the earth that we hand to future generations is livable. This is not a passive endeavor, as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Melanie Stein pointed out at Convocation.

The Numbers Behind the Class

Ithaca College’s Class of 2028 is a diverse collection of accomplished students. Here’s a bit more information about the newest cohort of Bombers:

207 student-athletes
198 first-generation students
50 legacy students
11 valedictorians and 6 salutatorians
56 Leadership Scholars
14 MLK Scholars
5 Park Scholars
17 Higher Education Opportunity Program Scholars
11 Davis United World College Scholars
3 Next Genius Scholars

“Sustainability is more than a buzzword; it's a call to action,” Stein said. “It urges us to be stewards of our environment, recognizing that the choices we make today ripple through generations to come. Whether it's reducing our carbon footprint, conserving natural resources, or championing renewable energy, sustainability is about safeguarding our planet for our children and their children.”

“Sustainability is more than a buzzword; it's a call to action. It urges us to be stewards of our environment, recognizing that the choices we make today ripple through generations to come.”

Melanie Stein, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

The ”Blue + Gold = Green” campaign helps students contribute to environmental sustainability and focuses on ways the college, recently ranked #22 for colleges where everyone cares about conservation by The Princeton Review, can fulfill its commitment to integrate sustainability into every aspect of student, faculty, and staff life. For example, the college announced a partnership with Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) to cover the full cost of bus passes for all students, faculty, and staff.

Melanie Stein, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, stressed to students the importance thinking of sustainability as more than just a buzzword. (Photo by Simon Wheeler)

Scott Doyle, IC’s Director of Energy Management and Sustainability, encouraged students at Convocation to go beyond merely adapting their transportation modes: “Rethink about how you engage on environmental and climate justice issues throughout your time in Ithaca. No matter what your major, or where you’re from, you have talents to help make a difference here.”

The critical message highlighted at Convocation—and reinforced at events held for students throughout the week: Sustainability takes many forms. President La Jerne Terry Cornish shared that of the Four Rs—Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, and Rethink—it’s Rethink that she considers her favorite.

“My charge today is to ask you to re-think what sustainability means to each of us, beyond protecting the natural world, as critically important as that is,” Cornish said. “I’m talking about your sustainability. About sustaining your personal and emotional resilience, and about sustaining your physical and mental health. I was in a meeting recently with other college presidents, and one of them said this: ‘We want our campuses to be safe spaces for our students—physically, socially, and emotionally—so that we can make students uncomfortable intellectually.’”

Location, Location, Location

Nearly 400 students attending IC’s Jumpstart program enjoyed the opportunity to arrive on campus early and explore the diverse attractions that define the community and region of their new home.

While the weather didn’t entirely cooperate (the intrepid and defiantly cheerful band of kayakers and paddleboarders braved Cayuga Lake on a day of inclement wind and choppy waters), Jumpstart introduced the new students to Ithaca by guiding them on 13 different adventures that included explorations of the eponymous gorges and waterfalls, a green tour of the town beginning at the food co-op and culminating at local business Sweet Melissa’s for ice cream, the aforementioned rowers who also got to enjoy delicious barbeque at IC’s Boathouse, a hike to Taughannock Falls and catered lunch courtesy of Hillel, and a tour highlighting some of Ithaca’s most renowned murals.

During Jumpstart programming, close to 400 students took part in activities around Ithaca, allowing them to get to know their community better.

(Photos by Allison Usavage '11)

Y’all Means All

For many students, a critical component of feeling emotionally comfortable and resilient is finding their tribe(s), students going through similar challenges who can serve as a support system, while also learning about the offices, organizations, and staff members at the college who work to ensure students have the resources they need to be successful.

A series of Orientation events taking place throughout the week aimed to provide those safe spaces to help students of various affinity groups feel comfortable at IC and set them on a year-long path of mental and emotional sustainability.

One sign of being comfortable? Getting up on stage to sing karaoke in front of more than 100 people and being confident enough to pick a Whitney Houston song. That’s what Alexandra Ives ’28 did at the BIPOC Unity Center’s karaoke mixer, held in the IC Square and open to all students.

“Everyone here seems so welcoming and caring. This was an event I had my eye on as soon as the Orientation schedule came out, and I’m glad I attended.”

Alexandra Ives ’28, on the BIPOC Unity Center karaoke mixer

Belting out Houston’s “I Have Nothing” to boisterous cheers from the assembled crowd (which included President Cornish), Ives, who is from Clayton, New York and majoring in Sound Recording Technology, said that the event offered a palpable sense of comfort.

“I want students to associate our office with safety and holistic care,” said Cliff Simon-Vital, Assistant Director of the BIPOC Unity Center. “One way we can do that is by being ‘resource forwarders’ and connecting students with what they need to be supported throughout their time at IC.”

After the final song played at the BIPOC Unity Center’s karaoke mixer, students and staff gathered for a massive selfie. (Photo courtesy of Cliff Simon-Vital)

The event also gave students the chance to make friends, and throughout the night, it was evident that everyone was getting more comfortable, never more so than the evening’s final song, a group performance of Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go” that had dozens of students singing and dancing, before most of the assembled crowd gathered by the stage for a group selfie.

“Homesickness is something a lot of our students deal with, and our hope is that events like this help fight that,” Simon-Vital added. “My goal was that everyone who attended would meet a new friend, and what better way to do that than getting together and singing at the top of your lungs?”

Helping students develop a close-knit community of friends is one of the goals of the newly formed Disabled Students Alliance. The group’s ethos, “Community over Education,” aims to connect students with disabilities with one another before educating able-bodied individuals. To that end, they held an ice cream social aimed at bringing people together with origami, board games, and Mario Kart.

Students at the Disabled Students Alliance's ice cream social got to mingle, eat, and do crafts. (Photo by Patrick Bohn)

“I wanted there to be an organization for disabled people where the emphasis was community,” said club president Oak Weihing ’26. “Especially post COVID, students with disabilities must overcome more barriers to in order to socialize. When I saw the events being held for the other affinity groups on campus, I realized I wanted to do something similar.”

The group, which was officially recognized as a student organization last February, already has a discord channel with close to 50 members, and a series of events planned throughout the semester, including group trips, accessible gym nights, and disability representation movie nights.

“I’m thrilled with how our first event of the year went,” said Weihing. “When your goal is to help people make social connections, it’s great to see that happening.”

The Center for LGBT Education, Outreach, & Services hosted an exuberant Pride Night that was open to all. “It’s super gay in here right now,” quipped Crissi Dalfonzo, the director of the center, to kick off the party. Attended by nearly 300 students, the party unfolded under the wholesome and watchful eye of Bob Ross, whose “Joy of Painting” was projected while students sipped mocktails, chatted with friends, and painted their own artwork on square pieces of canvas to be later assembled into a mural.

“This event is great. I came here because I wanted to connect with other queer people and when I was standing in line to get some pride stickers, some other people invited me to sit with them, and here we are. I think I’ve found the right college, and I’m really excited to learn more.”

Juliet Mitchell ’28, on the LGBT Center's Pride Night

The Center for LGBT Education, Outreach, & Services Pride Night event gave student the opportunity to collaborate on a mural. (Photo by Allison Usavage '11)

“This event is great,” said Juliet Mitchell ’28, an exploratory major from New York City. “I came here because I wanted to connect with other queer people and when I was standing in line to get some pride stickers, some other people invited me to sit with them, and here we are. I think I’ve found the right college, and I’m really excited to learn more.”

That sentiment was shared by Addisyn Coad ’28, whose painting of a cow being abducted by a UFO was arguably the most unique of the night. “This is the first-ever Pride event I’ve been able to attend,” said the Theatre Production and Design major from Utica, Ohio. “There’s a really chill vibe here, and in general, I’ve loved how inclusive and welcoming everyone is. I wanted to find people similar to me who have similar interests, and I’ve been able to do that here tonight.”

The joyful sense of community defined the night, perhaps best exemplified by the mural that was unveiled. Comprised of dozens of small canvas squares created by individual attendees, when put together, the mural spelled out “Y’all means all”, a message of inclusion that resonated deeply with Dalfonzo and embodies the mission of the Center.

“We welcome allies, questioning students, and out students alike to our space and our programming,” Dalfonzo said. “The LGBTQ Center truly is for everyone.”

President La Jerne Terry Cornish warmly welcomed the Class of 2028 to Ithaca College at Convocation.

(Photo by Simon Wheeler)

IC also hosted events for international, transfer, and first-generation students. The common theme woven throughout the week was the sense of community to help students— however, and from wherever, they came to South Hill—to succeed in their new environment through sustained support.

President Cornish drove the point home at Convocation: “I want to say one more time to the Class of 2028: welcome to this community, welcome home. We are glad to have you here.”