What's so bad about Ithaca? Forum

[Andrew the Wolverine]

In my limited time on this site, I have scarcely heard a good thing about Ithaca, NY. Cornell, by any reputable source, is a very fine school, yet the city in which the campus is located gets absolutely no respect on this forum. I don't have any opinion on the city because I've never been, but I have considered Cornell for law school and I would like to know why people think the city is such a crap hole. Or if you like it, why?

[02082010]

/thread.

[Tanicius]

/thread.

It snows at Chicago, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, Harvard, Yale, Penn, and Michigan too...

The following is hearsay, but it comes in as a present sense impression. My cousin, a Minnesota native and a new college student at Loyola in Chicago, thinks the winters are actually worse in Chicago than lower Minnesota due to the wind off Lake Michigan. I believe

[am060459]

/thread.

SO BEAUTIFUL.

[Pearalegal]

Haha. Oh...this has the potential to go down hill quickly.

I actually think Ithaca is just fine. Cold? Duh, its upstate New York.

Small town, not a ton to do. I guess it doesn't bother me, because as long as I have a place to hang out with people and drink, I can be happy. I know I wouldn't be settling down in Ithaca, and I wouldn't go there expecting it to offer me anything close to what a major city could...so its all gravy with me.

Some cool wine places around the area.

And see, that picture could be Michigan, Chicago...wherever. Plus, its winter. Its supposed to snow.

[chicoalto0649]

/thread.

I grew up in Buffalo so I am 100% biased (as I look out my window there is a ton of snow) but that picture is gorges.

[02082010]

/thread.

It snows at Chicago, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, Harvard, Yale, Penn, and Michigan too...

Cornell is the farthest north of all those schools so my point about it being cold as hell still stands. Also, the exit options from the other schools would be worth braving the cold.

[Pearalegal]

Cornell is the farthest north of all those schools so my point about it being cold as hell still stands. Also, the exit options from the other schools would be worth braving the cold.

Beer and good people are always great exit options.

[vanwinkle]

http://cornellsun.com/section/news/cont ... ide-victim

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/05/nyreg ... gewanted=1

http://www.ithaca.edu/news/release.php?id=2652

/thread.

[holborn]

I've always wondered why people hate on Ithaca more than say Ann Arbor or Durham. They are all relatively small(er) towns. So is there really THAT much more to do in Ann Arbor than in Ithaca?

[Mr. Matlock]

Why do people on the east and west coasts refer to the mid-west as "fly-over" country? What's wrong with not living in Manhattan? Why does New Jersey take so much shit? What's wrong with Jacksonville? Why would anyone live in Mississippi/Alabama/Louisiana/Tennessee/Kentucky? Why are there so many damned Mormons in Utah? Why do people who attend U of Minnesota think the U of Iowa sucks and the people that go to the U of Iowa thing the U of Minnesota sucks? Do my farts stink?

Hell, I don't know. People just need something to bitch about.

[Tanicius]

Haha. Oh...this has the potential to go down hill quickly.

I actually think Ithaca is just fine. Cold? Duh, its upstate New York.

Small town, not a ton to do. I guess it doesn't bother me, because as long as I have a place to hang out with people and drink, I can be happy. I know I wouldn't be settling down in Ithaca, and I wouldn't go there expecting it to offer me anything close to what a major city could...so its all gravy with me.

Some cool wine places around the area.

And see, that picture could be Michigan, Chicago...wherever. Plus, its winter. Its supposed to snow.

I don't get the gripes against Ithaca and Charlottesville for being "small towns." True, they're nothing like NYC or LA, and they're not even as big as areas like Durham or Ann Arbor, but these complainers have no idea what the definition of "small town" really is. I go to college in a town of 3000 people, ~5000 counting the college population. The nearest Wal-Mart is 40 minutes away. Charlottesville has ~45k people; Ithaca has ~30k. That's the size of a small suburb... by no means a "small town".

[Andrew the Wolverine]

I've always wondered why people hate on Ithaca more than say Ann Arbor or Durham. They are all relatively small(er) towns. So is there really THAT much more to do in Ann Arbor than in Ithaca?

This is what I'd like to know. All I know about college campus experiences is Ann Arbor, and I've always thought of Ithaca as similar to Ann Arbor.

P.S. People who whine about cold and snow....WIMPS

[Pearalegal]

http://cornellsun.com/section/news/cont ... ide-victim

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/05/nyreg ... gewanted=1

http://www.ithaca.edu/news/release.php?id=2652

The one reason Cornell's suicide rates are talked about so much is because they are one of the few schools to keep complete records.

Cornell had eight students take their own lives in the past ten years. With about 19,000 students on campus, Cornell has a suicide rate of about 4.3 per 100,000 student years for that time period, far below both MIT and national rates.

That was in the 90s, though.

But an article from 2008....

As a result, it has cut its suicide rate amongst students in half in the past 6 years (as compared to the previous 6 years when this policy wasn’t in place).

[Pearalegal]

Also...van, from one of your own articles:

"There is a myth surrounding the number of suicides here," David I. Stewart, the director of community relations, said after Mr. Michitisch's death two weeks ago. "There is not a larger-than-average number of suicides on the Cornell campus."

Suicide is unfortunately the 2nd highest killer of people 15-24 (might have those numbers off).

While this myth about Cornell students being more likely to commit suicide is pretty popular, its just not true. Cornell's suicide rates mirrors the national average.

[postitnotes]

I think it's because it's so tiny. Ann Arbor has over 115,000 people; Charlottesville has over 40k.

Ithaca has around 29,000....big difference between 115,000 and 29,000.

[Mr. Matlock]

I think it's because it's so tiny. Ann Arbor has over 115,000 people; Charlottesville has over 40k.

Ithaca has around 29,000....big difference between 115,000 and 29,000.

86,000 by my estimation.

[postitnotes]

I think it's because it's so tiny. Ann Arbor has over 115,000 people; Charlottesville has over 40k.

Ithaca has around 29,000....big difference between 115,000 and 29,000.

86,000 by my estimation.

yep, but check out wikipedia. if you guys want to take into account metro areas, the numbers will be substantially larger.

[Vincent Vega]

One of those stories says this: "Last fall, Sharon Dittman, associate director of community relations for Gannett, told The Sun that Cornell’s suicide rate is in keeping with the national average for higher education, which is seven per 100,000 students per year."

[Pearalegal]

I think it's because it's so tiny. Ann Arbor has over 115,000 people; Charlottesville has over 40k.

Ithaca has around 29,000....big difference between 115,000 and 29,000.

86,000 by my estimation.

Check wikipedia...that's what the source says.

Dude, come on...he was doing the subtraction.

[vanwinkle]

Also...van, from one of your own articles:

"There is a myth surrounding the number of suicides here," David I. Stewart, the director of community relations, said after Mr. Michitisch's death two weeks ago. "There is not a larger-than-average number of suicides on the Cornell campus."

Suicide is unfortunately the 2nd highest killer of people 15-24 (might have those numbers off).

While this myth about Cornell students being more likely to commit suicide is pretty popular, its just not true. Cornell's suicide rates mirrors the national average.

I wasn't trying to say anything beyond what gave Ithaca the reputation it has. I didn't actually say anything about whether it's right or not, I was just showing where the reputation comes from.

[Vincent Vega]

/thread.

That's so beautiful! I miss snow so much!

[postitnotes]

I think it's because it's so tiny. Ann Arbor has over 115,000 people; Charlottesville has over 40k.

Ithaca has around 29,000....big difference between 115,000 and 29,000.

86,000 by my estimation.

Check wikipedia...that's what the source says.

Dude, come on...he was doing the subtraction.

i realize it came out wrong, so i edited. i was commenting on checking out surrounding metro numbers.

[bees]

I have family in Ithaca and have been there many times. It's a very nice area and I'd wager 8 hours of daily studying is a bit tougher to deal with than a harsh winter so I wouldn't worry too much about what the people who need to live in LA (where I went for undergrad) say.

No seasons gets boring. If you want to go to Cornell don't let the weather/small town scare you away.

[Pearalegal]

I wasn't trying to say anything beyond what gave Ithaca the reputation it has. I didn't actually say anything about whether it's right or not, I was just showing where the reputation comes from.

Oh, ok. Just wanted to make sure people knew Cornell doesn't actually cause suicides.