Ithaca College Top Questions

In some sense, yes. The campus atmosphere and the town itself are extremely liberal and there are definitely people that one would categorize as "hippies". There is a common bumper sticker that reads: "Ithaca: 10 Square Miles Surrounded by Reality". But that is by no means the only type of person at Ithaca College. Ithaca has a lot of good academic programs which draw different groups of people. For example, the physical therapy program and athletic programs draw those that are really into sports, the Park programs attract more artsy, film-student types and the music school draws, of course, those that are very into music.

The town of Ithaca is very open to far-left ideas. There is definitely a left-leaning portion of the town, but students and faculty from Cornell create a conservative faction. As for the student body, these stereotypes may be accurate about a portion of the campus. A decent part of the campus comes from well-off families However, as with any college campus, the student body is varied enough that most students fall out of any stereotype.

Ithaca is full of left leaning, progressive students who take every opportunity to get involved on campus, whether it is with a TV show on ICTV or active clubs, including Amnesty International and IC Fems. Organizations are always bringing in speakers, documentaries and organizing events that clearly represents how active our students are. Most of the events are focused on liberal or progressive themes, but there is the small sect of right leaning or more moderate students who make their voices known through IC Republicans. The town does sort of represent a semi-Woodstock, with the townies representing a liberal and sometimes hippy persona. The Roy H. Park School of Communications is one of the strongest schools Ithaca offers, with their ability to allow students hands on experience with modern technology and theories in the ever changing field of communications. But Ithaca has so many great programs and its business, theater and music programs should not be overshadowed by the stereotype of Ithaca known for the Park school. The alumni system here is amazing, with students making connections and receiving jobs straight out of college with ease and success.

In some senses, the stereotypes are true; there are a lot of preppy styled students, along with many who would label themselves as pot-smokoing hippies. It doesn't really snow that much, it's just very cold and windy instead. And overall, the student population does tend to be middle-higher class, which can be seen in the fashion and lifestyle many lead. But there are also a lot of standard middle class students as well, and living a more middle class lifestyle is easy to maintain.