On Friday, May 7, Ithacans gathered outside Bank of America on the Commons for the Make Wall Street Pay Up Rally, an event that featured community organizers as well as ordinary citizens deeply upset with the current financial crisis ailing the nation.

The rally was led by the Tompkins County Workers’ Center and the Midstate Central Labor Council, the latter of which is an organization that represents several hundred unions in eleven New York State counties, including Tompkins.  Pete Meyers represented the Tompkins’ County Workers’ Center, while President Tom Seiling was there to respresent the Midstate Central Labor Council.  At any given moment, Meyers could be seen walking around with his clipboard, making sure everything was in order.  He is a strong advocate for workers’ rights in the local Ithaca community.  The mission of Seiling’s organization is to improve the lives of working families in the Central New York area.

“Officially, we don’t have an amplification permit, so we may have to play it by ear,” Seiling spoke into the microphone at the rally.

There were many different concerns voiced by several guest speakers, whom hailed from around the Central New York area and shared many of the same sentiments as Ithacans.  The rally was held outside Bank of America to send the message that local citizens are tired of the corruption of big corporate banks.

“It’s time for us to stand up and say, ‘This country belongs to us,’” Pam MacKesey addresses the crowd.  MacKesey had been a city councilperson for the city of Ithaca, and is currently a Tompkins County legislator.  “This country doesn’t just belong to wealthy people, it belongs to everyday people like you and me.”

Professor Howard Botwinick is a professor of economics at SUNY Cortland, a state university that may see its funding get severely cut in the next year.  Botwinick called for government regulation on big banks, expressing the need for the priva

Noticing how many older Ithacans attended the rally, Botwinick even brought up the issue of social security, and the debt that continues to plague the government program.

“There is a problem facing us, and I think you’re going to start hearing a lot more about this,” Botwinick said.  “We are facing a rising deficit in the future because of a lot of us are getting old and a lot of us are going to need health care.  [The deficit] is going to go up, but there are very simple solutions to this.  All you have to do is remove the cap off of social security, and make wealthy people pay their fair share for social security and that entire deficit goes away.”

Neil Oolie is just your average ordinary citizen, but he happens to look like Benjamin Franklin.  Oolie occasionally comes into the Workers’ Center to help out, and he had a few words for the corporations.

“New York State could ask our Congress for a constitutional amendment so that corporations will not have the ability to buy Congress and the way to the Presidency,” said Neil Oolie, who lives in Ithaca and volunteers at the Tompkins County Workers’ Center.

Many people at the rally felt that the public sector was being unfairly blamed for the problems facing not just the nation, but especially in New York State.  Nevertheless, the financial crisis has led to serious cuts in public programs such as education, welfare, social security, and health care.  Dave Richie is a member of United University Professionals, a union representing thousands of faculty members in New York State schools, including SUNY Cortland.  He attended the rally to voice his opposition against Governor Paterson’s plan for massive statewide budget cuts in public sectors.

“We need to stop the cuts to SUNY and to public schools k-12.  These cuts destroy New York’s future.  They strangle our children’s education rather than invest in it,” Richie said.

Barbara Lifton is a New York State Assemblywoman who shares similar views on this issue.

“The state income tax structure is obscenely flat and regressive.  I’ve been trying to mobilize people statewide to stop cuts on our state budgets,” Lifton said.

Ultimately, the cries of most citizens were for more government regulation in the private sector, taxes on the wealthy to pay for the deficit, and better paying jobs.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in the city of Ithaca is at 5.5% as of March 2010, but this does not mean that Ithacans are being guaranteed well-paying jobs.  Meyers got the crowd fired up about this hotbed issue that the Tompkins County Workers’ Center deals with every day.

“What do we want?”

“Good jobs!”

“When do we want them?”

“Now!”

It remains to be seen whether any or all of these economic problems can be fixed, on a local or national scale, but it is becoming increasingly clear what the people want.

Beginning August 1, smoking won’t only be bad for your health – it could put a much larger dent in your wallet than any pack of cigarettes can.

The Ithaca Commons will be a smoke-free zone within the inner T that is within the entrances at Seneca, Aurora and Cayuga Streets. Anyone caught breaking this new law will be fined $75 on the first offense, $150 on the second and $250 for the third and subsequent offenses.

State tax on cigarettes is already $2.75 a pack in New York, making the cost of a pack of cigarette between $7.50 and $8.50 on average. With this tax as well as the prospective fines, smoking could end up costing much more money than it is worth.

The Ithaca City Council passed the ordinance with a 9-1 vote on April 7, with the “main goal of this legislation being to reduce proximate exposure to secondhand smoke,” says Eric Rosario, City Council member.

The ordinance states: “Tobacco smoke contains at least 172 toxic substances, including three regulated outdoor air pollutants and 33 hazardous air pollutants regulated by the Federal Clean Air Act, 47 chemicals restricted as hazardous waste and 67 known human or animal carcinogens. The aforementioned composition of tobacco smoke is the same whether tobacco smoke is inhaled in the act of smoking or inhaled by nonsmokers out of the air indoors or outdoors.”

Dan Cogan, Ithaca City Council member, says, “Smoking, even outdoors, causes health impacts for people exposed to the secondhand smoke, and because children get exposed to smoking. Restricting smoking lessens these impacts.”

Nikki Valentino, 19, a student at Cornell University, says, “It seems like an area like the Commons should be a smoke-free area. It is very small and condensed with lots of foot traffic – and with the playground and attractions in the center, it’s a prime location for children to play. I don’t think we should subject kids to secondhand smoke.”

With the many concerns surrounding the issue of secondhand smoke, some point to the problems that will arise with the potential cluster of smokers at the three entrances to the inner T of the Commons.

“The whole idea of focusing where the higher concentration of smokers are is just going to congregate all the smoke in one place. All it will do is cause a cloud of smoke around the Commons that you will have to go through just to enter,” says Ellie Foust, 20, a student at Cornell University.

Although it is mainly the “under 30” crowd that criticizes the ban, Councilwoman Ellen McCollister also went on record as objecting to the ban, her main reason being that “it may end up causing clusters of smokers at either end of the Commons, thereby ironically causing some secondhand smoke problems where they don’t currently exist – because smokers are, for the most part, pretty spread out now.”

The ban could also lower business revenue in the establishments located in the inner T, and potentially draw consumers out to similar companies located outside the nonsmoking perimeters.

Luke Smith, 17, of Ithaca, says, “It’s going to hurt businesses. People going to Ameritalia’s are going to want to smoke a cigarette after they eat a piece of pizza. They’re going to say, ‘Why not go to Pizza Aroma and get a slice there?’”

Another potential problem with the ordinance is the commotion it could cause at the bars, when crowds naturally gather around the entrances to smoke cigarettes in between beers.

“I think it’s going to cause quite a stir. Drunk kids are going to want to smoke cigarettes outside, and they’re not going to take kindly to cops telling them to put out their cigarettes. Now it’s just another reason for cops to harass young people,” says Thom Hunt, 22, an Ithaca College senior.

Ariel Jameson, 24, an Ithaca local, says, “I don’t think the bars will be too happy with this when they have to figure some way for folks to smoke.”

The idea of restricting cigarette smoking just during the day was brought up in the City Council, but the ambiguity it could potentially cause was reason for the Council to dismiss the idea. Rosario says, “What we learned from other municipalities is that if you create different time periods for regulating smoking in the same area, folks get confused because of the presence of visual cues like ashtrays and cigarette butts all the time, so [it’s better that] the ordinance is in effect at all times.”

The ordinance also includes restrictions on smoking in playgrounds, parks, schools, festivals, bus stations, outdoor concerts and outdoor dining areas.

Concerns about loss of freedoms are coming out of the mouths of opposers of the ban. “It seems like our rights are being messed with somehow,” remarks Beth DiPasque, 30, an Ithaca local.

However, under legal jurisdiction, the Commons belong to the city of Ithaca, and the city has the right to enforce any law if it minimizes health risks to the members of the community. In the ordinance, it states: “Pursuant to the New York State Constitution, the Common Council of the City of Ithaca may adopt and amend laws pertaining to the protection, conduct, safety, health and well-being of the persons and property in the City.”

In 1990, the first ban of smoking in indoor public places such as bars and restaurants was passed in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Since then, all but 11 states have enacted the same ban. While at one time everyone was able to smoke indoors, prohibitions have slowly been put into place that increasingly eliminate areas for smokers and create smoke-free zones for nonsmokers.

Laura Kathrein, 19, who lives two blocks off the Commons, says, “I think it is crazy how the city government can dictate where it is appropriate to smoke; it just begins to show how much power the government can have over people.”

However, the harm caused from secondhand smoke was enough for the Council to enact its power. Council member Rosario says, “I have no concerns about infringing on people’s freedom. People are free to smoke in places where it is allowed. People should not be free to cause harm to others.”

Councilman Svante Myrick says, “I believe that this will make the city of Ithaca a healthier, more vibrant and more free community.”

Proponents of the ban are hoping cigarette butts and smoky skies will evaporate once the ordinance has been passed. While it is impossible to say how well the ban will work, the Ithaca City Council is working with T-Free: Tobacco Free Tompkins’s statement,  “We cannot afford another generation of tobacco addiction.”

Councilman Cogan says, “I am hopeful that the less convenient it is to smoke, the less likely people will be to continue smoking.”

The Ithaca Commons were overtaken on April 29. A swarm of survivors, advocates and friends converged in the center of Ithaca, armed with neon yellow shirts to make their presence known in spite of the setting sun. Marking the end of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Ithaca Advocacy Center hosted what was probably its thirty-first Take Back the Night march and rally.

Heather Campbell, program director at the Ithaca Advocacy Center said, “We know that the first Take Back the Night in U.S. history happened in 1978, and through the history of tee shirts we can trace it back to 1979 in Ithaca.”

The event began around 7:00 p.m., when marchers who began at Ithaca College, Cornell University and Greater Ithaca Activity Center made their way for the oft-overlooked pavilion in the center of the Commons. Marchers carried signs proclaiming their reclamation of the night, and chanting one of the official Take Back the Night (TBTN) rallying calls, “We have the power/We have the right/The streets are ours/Take back the night.”

After all of the groups arrived, the evening’s speakers and performers began. First was Mayor Carolyn Peterson, who wore her peace sign-covered tee shirt and proof that TBTN has been a force in Ithaca since 1979.

Other groups present included the Ithaca Police Department. Undersheriff Richard Tubbs spoke on how the police handle charges of sexual assault, and dispelled some deterring myths about victims who chose to report the crimes committed against them. “We just don’t see false reports of rape. Women who come to us are believed.”

The Tompkins County Advocacy Center’s work goes far beyond awareness events like Take Back the Night. As the center’s programs director, Campbell also conducts training with the local police, therapists and daycare providers on treatment of victims of sexual abuse.

Patty Tvaroha, adult community educator for the Advocacy Center said, “The advocacy we provide is most important. We help survivors identify and get what they need, whether its safe housing, medical care or just talking to someone.”

A group of organizations called the Take Back the Night Collective forms yearly in January to begin planning for the event. This year’s collective included the Ithaca College Feminist Majority, the Cornell Women’s Resource Center, Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes and the Tompkins County Advocacy Center.

Take Back the Night became a publicly funded, officially recognized organization in 2001. Since then, according to Campbell, they have been working to make these sexual assault awareness rallies into national events by lending support at the grassroots level. One such method is naming ten different rally locations across the country to be the Ten Points of Light.

“It was an honor to be recognized for all the work we’ve been doing, and coming from a family with a history of violence, it means a lot to be one of the Ten Points of Light,” said Tvaroha.

Ithaca was selected as one of the Ten Points of Light after Tvaroha attended a national conference and presented the Advocacy Center’s efforts in Tompkins County to leaders of the foundation. Other locations that served as Points of Light were Brown University, Rutgers University and the University of Texas at El Paso.

“Ithaca is a college town, so we direct a lot of our resources to college students. We know that girls ages 16-24 are at an increased risk to experience sexual abuse, and this risk increases if a girl is in her first semester of college, so in terms of intervening in and preventing abuse, much of our attention is directed there,” said Campbell.

The event continued with a speak-out session, which provides survivors with a chance to share their stories. One such speaker was Beth, whose story of breaking and entering, abuse and guilt ended with an urge to her listeners to, “step up and do the right thing – everybody knows what that is.”

Campbell said of the speak-out sessions, “People come to the event who didn’t plan to tell their stories, but the speak-outs can trigger powerful emotions. That’s why we have advocates standing by to talk to people at every event, and we definitely talked to people that night.”

One Ithaca College student, who said that she made no intention of coming forward, was the penultimate speaker during the speak-outs. She told the story of her attack, her recovery and how she regained her ability to trust others and herself again.

A Cornell University student who chose to not share his name during the speak-out was the first man and the last person to tell his story. He spoke of his sister, whose cultural values and family expectations, keep her trapped in an abusive marriage. He ended his relation with an appeal for help from the crowd, as he had run out of solutions.

Sierra Shorey, a student and a member of Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER), has participated in Take Back the Night and similar awareness events since she began attending school in Ithaca. “SAFER and Take Back the Night are a way for me to deal with my own stuff, and to help others who have been in similar situations. It’s hard to feel alone at places like this.”

Campbell added, “People who came to Take Back the Night are moved by the number of purple armbands and the number of allies. It creates the feeling that we’re not alone. I think that it’s incredibly powerful because the experiences of sexual and domestic violence are isolating, silencing and shameful.”

At Take Back the Night events, participants can choose to identify as survivors of abuse by wearing purple armbands. Allies and supporters can do so with blue armbands.

Campbell said, “We create such an important space for survivors and allies. My hope is that we can continue to provide that space.

But as Tvaroha said, “Funding for the Advocacy Center is always in jeopardy,” as it relies on public funding, money earned through fund-raisers and private donations to continue its services.

Reflecting on this year’s event, Campbell said, “We’re always looking to try to make it go smoother and to increase our outreach. But from this year’s Take Back the Night, I really got the feeling that we’re connected as a community and that’s strong. And I must say, we were also really lucky with the weather.”

Ithaca’s Take Back the Night, in sync with the nine other Points of Light, began its candlelit vigil at 9:00 p.m. Advocacy Center and TBTN staff passed candles through the crowd who had been listening to the speak-outs. As the sun went down, a circle that enveloped the entire center of the Commons formed, and the candles were lit.

During the vigil, Premium Blend, Ithaca College’s female a cappella group, sang a selection of comforting hymns without denomination, which added to the already emotionally charged evening.

Tvaroha said, “I was okay until the vigil started, but then I lost it.”

She then ended the event by urging attendees of the event and vigil to, “move forward, and become a candle against the darkness of violence and abuse.”

It’s no secret that are kids our on drugs.  It has been this way for several generations, but the types of drugs kids take and how they are used has changed dramatically.  Among the many popular prescription drugs in high schools and college campuses nationwide, Adderall is the most widely used.  How prevalent is the drug?

“It’s rampant!” yells a Palmer Pharmacy customer.

Nicole Pagano, who has been working as a pharmacist for five years, is fully aware of the negative side effects of the drug.  She has been an employee of Palmer Pharmacy since it opened last year, which is located on Green Street in downtown Ithaca, and has dealt with issues like forged prescriptions in the past.  She said that in some very serious cases, people can die from taking the drug.

“If you take the drug as it is prescribed it can cause weight loss, increased heart rate and increased blood pressure…When people start taking the drug in excessive amounts and in other ways, such as snorting or injecting the drug, it can cause heart attacks and strokes,” Pagano said.

Pagano said that her cousin got hooked on adderall, which eventually led to a cocaine addiction.  The trend goes like this: the heavier the workload, the more prevalent the drug becomes.  While studying in pharmacy school, Pagano noticed how many students became dependent on the drug to stay in school.

“There are a lot of people in pharmacy school who used it to stay awake longer to study longer…I’ve known people who have graduated from pharmacy school addicted to Oxycontin, some of them end up in jail, but most people don’t get caught.”

A piece of legislation called the Health Information and Portable Accountability Act (HIPPA) was passed in 1996 to ensure an individual’s health information is kept private.  While this has led to improvements in doctor/patient relations, it also makes it easier for patients to get the drugs they want.

“If pharmacies and doctors were able to communicate more freely, then we could address this issue more directly…HIPPA is for patient privacy, and it has good intentions, but it gets in the way of communication between pharmacists and doctors.”

Pagano said that if she ever sees something that doesn’t look right, she immediately contacts the doctor of the patient to confirm the prescription.  She said this should be a general practice for pharmacists.

“Pharmacists forget that we can refuse any prescription for any reason at any time.”

Neil Goodman, a sophomore at Ithaca College, is what you would call a responsible user.  He has had a prescription for adderall since he started college, and said he has always had issues with ADHD.  Though his parents were very reluctant at first, they knew that it would help improve his schoolwork.  Goodman is fully aware of the negative health effects caused by adderall, which is why he makes sure he uses it responsibly and only as needed.

“In combination with marijuana or alcohol, it becomes counterintuitive,” he said. “You confuse your nervous system, which leads to other health issues.”

Goodman brings up other substances for a very important reason.  Not only is it the most widespread drug, but many students take it simply because they enjoy the high, which has dubbed it the “party drug.”

“People take adderall so they can stay awake and drink, which is funny because it’s meant to be taken in the morning.  A 20mg adderall will keep you awake for ten hours, and a 30mg will last about twelve hours.  It’s unnatural for your body, you’re supposed to let your body fall asleep on its own,” Goodman said.

Both Goodman and Pagano said that the solution to the problem lies in better education and better awareness.

“I sometimes go to to local schools and talk to younger students about prescription drugs.  The more these kids know, the less likely they are to abuse drugs in the future,” Pagano said.

Goodman sums it up:

“For people who have ADHD, there are plenty of other drugs you can consult with your physician or doctor about…None of us our doctors, a lot of information is spread, some of it’s true and most of it’s not, and that’s why we pay the professionals.”

Sarah* came to Cornell University five years ago, from Austin, Texas. This Southern Belle took adderall a few times in high school, but upon the pre-lims and heavy course load at Cornell, she began taking it more and more frequently. Eventually, Sarah began almost every day with an adderall to accompany her morning coffee. “There was just so much course work… It’s the only way to get by sometimes.”

Adderall entered the scene in 1996 as a pill to help patients diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. With an equal mixture of dextroamphetamine saccharate, dextroamphetamine sulfate, racemic amphetamine aspartate monohydrate, and racemic amphetamine sulfate, these four components produce a medication to increase concentration. In simpler terms, a mix of dopamine and amphetamine help stimulate the brain. Results have been positive for many ADHD patients, allowing a flow of increased awareness.

Braeden Cohen, 20, a junior at Ithaca College has been prescribed with 40mg of vyvanse a day. In ninth grade, his psychiatrist ran tests and concluded that Cohen has ADHD. First prescribed with adderall, Cohen switched to vyvanse in 2009, a year after the drug was patented. Vyvanse is similar to adderall, made by the same company, with a longer extended release time.

“I perform better. I can function better. I can keep my focus. It’s not a question of whether I have the intelligence, it’s a question of how my mind is racing and how I can control that.”

Adderall and vyvanse work like this: when the pill is taken, as your body breaks it down, it stimulates your central nervous system. It increases dopamine and norepinephrine. These chemicals help the brain send signals between nerve cells, and helps with the ability to pay attention and stay organized.

For those prescribed to take adderall or vyvanse, it helps them function better by being able to study or pay attention at work. For those who are not prescribed, however, “speed like” effects come into play. Side effects jump up for those who use it without a prescription, including paranoia, psychotic episodes, weight loss, anxiety, nausea, insomnia, and muscle twitching.

Professor Michael McCall of the Business School at Ithaca College says, “If you have a prescription then it is no different than a golfer who has migraines and takes beta-blockers as a preventative…” Professor McCall says he doesn’t consider it cheating when students take adderall – but that is “only if there is a prescription.”

Sarah isn’t a surprising case. Amber, a sophomore at Cornell, says, “I take adderall when I have more work than it is possible to do. Usually it’s when I have to pull an all-nighter.”

Sarah adds, “I get super-focused and intense. It’s so much harder to study without it.”

Layne Kazprzyk, an Ithaca College senior, says, “I think that the rampant over-prescription of this drug is causing youths to become stupider. It teaches you that you don’t need to realize your full potential on your own and can just take a magic drug to improve yourself. It’s just mind steroids.”

The underground world of ADHD medicine has taken off, with many unnoticing. Like a street drug, there are peak times during the school year to sell it, such as midterms and finals week. “I pay anywhere from $3 to $7 a pill, depending on the time of year. It’s much more in demand at the end of the semester, and the prices go up,” Amber says. “A lot of times I just get them for free from my friends.”

“It was most prevalent in the whole Greek fraternity and sorority system at Cornell. I was in with them, so it was easy access,” Sarah says. “I rarely paid for it.”

The underground system is already making its way through colleges. Many students also take adderall to stay awake – to party all night.

“It’s prescribed speed, and that’s why it’s such an effective drug. That’s why so many kids buy it and use it like cocaine,” Cohen says.

Adderall has made its way into the weekend, away from studying. Whether swallowed or snorted, adderall keeps the dopamine and amphetamine streaming through your nervous system, keeping any feelings of fatigue or exhaustion from getting in.

Dave, a junior at Ithaca College, says, “It’s a drug. You’re using an amphetamine. Everyone knows someone who has a prescription; it comes out.”

Laura, an Ithaca College senior, says, “The only way I take adderall is as a party drug.”

Adderall mixed with alcohol has its dangers, however. When the dopamine is fueling you up, the depressant side effects of alcohol decrease. Instead of passing out or feeling groggy, you are charged to make it through the night. Because of this, the potential of consuming much more alcohol than healthy is at risk.

It takes more alcohol to feel an effect, which leads to the ability to consume more than your body can take.

Another way adderall is abused is as a way to drop weight fast. One of the common side effects is weight loss. Adderall was first put on the market in the 1960s as a diet pill, although the Food and Drug Administration has not approved adderall for weight loss.

Many students guess that between three to five out of ten college students use adderall on a semi-regular basis, without a prescription.

————————————————————————————————–

*Last names have been omitted to protect privacy.

*Video Illustration by Bridget Corrigan. No drugs were used in the video.

“Let’s say hi to Frank,” said Carlyn Buckler, Ph.D. to an antsy group of first graders as she led them across a room to the Museum of the Earth’s grand finale exhibit. The children met Frank with puzzled expressions and unsure eyes. Ten feet above their heads, Frank’s tusks shoot over the railing in place to keep prying hands away from what Buckler called his “beautifully preserved” skeleton.

“At least I call him Frank,” said Buckler, before she showed the students Frank’s femur, which towered over all of them.

Frank is the Hyde Park mastodon, one of three mastodon skeletons found in Central New York during the last ten years. He roamed present-day Hyde Park during the Quaternary Period, roughly 13,550 years ago. Frank was unearthed in August 1999, accidentally, while the Lozier family of Dutchess County was having their pond deepened. Frank was excavated from August through October 2000, and required more than 340 volunteers and 2000 hours of labor.

Frank is an American mastodon (Mammut americanum), an extinct relative of the modern elephant. Compared to African elephants, American mastodons were smaller, and equipped for the colder conditions with a brown coat of fur. They diverted on the evolutionary path from their elephant descendants 15 million years ago, and thrived on Earth until they went extinct around 10,000 years ago. A combination of human hunting and climate change is the widely accepted reason for the mastodon’s sudden extinction.

The Hyde Park mastodon attracted attention in the paleontological community because, save for a few toes, his entire skeleton was found.

“We try to steer clear of false advertising,” said Buckler, looking up at Frank. “If it’s not a real bone in the display, it’s a much darker color.” Casts of the Hyde Park mastodon have been taken and put on display at other paleontology museums and research centers, like that of the University of Michigan.

In spite of these scientific leaps and bounds, Buckler said, “Science education isn’t what it could be. With the loss of biodiversity and climate change that’s happening, we really need to be doing outreach.”

Frank and the Museum of the Earth are a stop on the Discovery Trail. This partnership of eight learning centers in the Ithaca area, which includes the Johnson Museum of Art, the Cayuga Nature Center and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, ensures hands-on, contextual learning in the arts and sciences for Tompkins County school children.

Discovery Trail is one example of the emerging movement in education and scientific research that Buckler called, “citizen science.”

The Museum of the Earth and the Paleontological Research Institute also head the Mastodon Matrix Project. The project begins when a teacher sends away for matrix kits. Matrix is dirt and debris taken from around a fossil, which is Frank, in the case of this project. Students then sift through the matrices and look for shells, wood, rocks and other unidentifiable matter of interest. The finds are then sent back to the Paleontological Research Institute for further analysis.

Of children who have participated in the Mastodon Matrix Project, Buckler said, “They’re not jaded by 12 years of college. They don’t have a narrow field of study. They’re interested in everything. And they’re really good at segregating the rocks and shells from the dirt.”

“Citizen science gets non-science people directly involved, and gives them some stake in the scientific process,” said Buckler.

The citizen science movement is rapidly expanding in the Ithaca area. Daniel Capps, a doctoral student at Cornell, works on the Fossil Finders Project. This project involves a summer field school for teachers, who pass that knowledge on to their students who, as with the Mastodon Matrix Project, are screening ancient soil for signs of life.

Classrooms that participate in Fossil Finders are looking through matrices from the seas of the Devonian Period, which was from 460 through 360 million years ago. Cornell researchers hope to learn how environmental change affected Devonian sea life through the finds from Fossil Finders students.

“There is some debate about the efficacy of the project because the work is done by school kids. But just from cursory looks at the data, kids find as many things as scientists do. They know how to look and inquire,” said Buckler.

Similar results were seen in the Fossil Finders Project, according to Capps. “The data from students is decent compared to the professionals. And it has big implications. Kids aren’t just reading from textbooks now, they’re working as scientists.”

Buckler added, “Kids get to see themselves as scientists, when they used to only see scientists as white males with white lab coats and glasses.”

Tammy Zuccala, executive director of the I.A.C.C., has held this position for the past three years, but has been working with small children for about thirty years.  Starting off as an aide, she worked her way up by becoming a substitute teacher, eventually working full time and becoming the director for a child care program in Massachusettes.  Now she has found a home in Ithaca, and the recent news of Tammani has brought some new excitement and attention to the daycare center.

“After we saw the article, we had it printed out and distributed to the class to reemphasize the importance of fire safety education,” Zuccala said.

From the fire safety training Tammani learned from the Ithaca Fire Department at the day care center, she was able to recognize the sound of the smoke alarm and react to it accordingly.  Fire safety education is mandatory several times, and Lieutenant Roy Trask of the Ithaca Fire Department paid a visit to the day care center not long before Tammani saved her mom’s life on that fateful night.

“This staff has to be educated.  Our regulations and laws are much more intense than those in public schools.  These teachers work longer hours, they work all year, and they work more intensely because of the regulations they have to follow,” Zuccala said.  “Without childhood education at such a young age, the local school systems would be overburdened.”

Cornell’s beautiful architecture has been replaced with an ugly reminder. Various bridges overlooking the gorges on Cornell’s campus have been covered by 8-foot tall barbed wire fences.

Three suicides since February as a result of gorge jumping has dampened the spirits on campus. Freshman Bradley Ginsburg jumped off the Thurston Avenue bridge on February 18, followed by a plunge off the same bridge by Sophomore William Sinclair on March 11. The following day, Junior Matthew Zika dove off the suspension bridge.

Cornell officials are taking the severity of the situation to heart.

Emails addressing the suicides were delivered to the inboxes of every student at Cornell, while every dorm room received a knock on the door as a check up system.

Prevention of future suicides are top priority for Cornell’s staff – as it should be. However, are the daunting fences that have been implemented throughout the campus going to save the lives of those with suicidal thoughts?

“I don’t think it really addresses the actual problem. It might stop people from jumping off the bridges, but it’s not the only way to commit suicide.” –Steven Plastrik, 23, from Seattle, W.A., says.

At first, patrol officers were placed at the bridges to look out for potential jumpers. The fences were implemented while Cornell students were on their Spring Break.

Students were surprised to see how the Cornell staff had dealt with the situation. Many students spoke out against the public demonstration.

“The worst part about it is marking the space as this is where these bad things happened. It’s like we’re doing something, it’s something you can actually see.” Omar Figueredo, 24, from Brownsville, T.X. commented. “It would do a lot more to foster more of a community feeling, in a more subtle and sincere way.”

A facebook group was created titled “Cornellians Who Don’t Want Bridge Fence” – with 1387 members to date. On the group description, it states: “Some studies have shown that such fences have reduced suicide rates in large population samples. Others have shown that it decreased bridge suicides while increasing other suicides. So, the effectiveness of bridge fences at reducing suicide rates, especially in a population size much smaller than that of the studies, can’t be fully conclusive.”

Concerns are spreading through the campus. Commencement is fast approaching, and students as well as professors are perturbed by the idea that the fences will still be trapping the disturbing memories in during a time of celebration. Plans to take the fences down should be implemented by June, and proposals include more aesthetically pleasing alternatives. Physical barriers are still in the plans.

Cornell administration had a huge decision to make on how to act, and how to act fast.

“While we know that our gorges are beautiful features of this campus, they can be scary places at times like this,” Susan Murphy, the vice president for student and academic services, said in a video message posted on a new Web site, caringcommunity.cornell.edu.

Some students see the silver lining in the fences, such as Corinne Zappacosta, 22, from Augusta Georgia. “Their visibility has provoked awareness and discussion about the topic versus brushing under the mat or keeping instances quiet. It has instigated a more proactive attitude towards prevention and reaching out amongst all members of the community.”

Simeon Moss, Cornell spokesman, explains how they came to the solution: “Following three deaths of students this semester due to falls from or near campus bridges, we sought advice from national and local leaders in the field of suicide prevention. They were clear in their advice to us: the recent cluster of suicides has the potential to increase the risk of suicide for vulnerable members of our community, and it was critical that we take aggressive action to restrict access to jumping or falling from the bridges.”

Sinclair and Zika’s falls came on the Thursday and Friday before the midterm exam week. The following Monday and Tuesday, President David Skorton placed a full-page ad in the Cornell Daily Sun which reads: “Your well-being is the foundation on which your success is built. If you learn anything at Cornell, please learn to ask for help.”

Although members of the community are quick to criticize the actions the Cornell staff has taken, one important message does ring clear. The prevention of future suicides is extremely important to all of Cornell, and the administration is doing all that it can to help those who may feel mentally unstable.

While some of the actions may come across in more of a policing fashion than a genuine effort, the goal is clear: to help those in need.

Cornell is suffering from a huge loss, which is causing emotions to stir among the whole community. With hopes from the staff and the student body, Cornell will overcome the challenges it has faced.

* First names are used in the event that individuals requested that their last names be omitted from the article. *

They’re family in the “bunkroom.” The EMTs and paramedics of Bangs Ambulance Service live a large chunk of their lives in an odd household. A household where the family recycles religiously, never gets any sleep and is, according to EMT Jared Hoyt, “very friendly, not to each other, but to outsiders.”

The building that houses the ambulance service’s automobiles, or “rigs,” originally belonged to the Ithaca Fire Department. Susan Flynn, Bangs paramedic supervisor, said, “Everybody was pretty excited about getting to slide down the fireman’s pole when we moved here, but they took it out.”

Banter is endless in the bunkroom’s main area, where the cozy couches and mammoth flat screen TV go, for the most part, unused. The EMTs and paramedics tease each other about everything from burgeoning guts to strange accents, as Bangs employees come from as far away as California, Texas and South Carolina.

EMT Traci Foster said, “Our sick sense of humor is all about stress relief.”

This is seen in the praise, like the Golden Crapper Award, that this family gives its members. The Golden Crapper is given yearly to the EMT that goes on the “crappiest” calls, which are defined as those that require “ALS” or advanced life support. The recipient of the Golden Crapper has a plaque with his or her name attached to a wooden toilet seat and is immortalized in the bunkroom.

EMT and Critical Care student Ernie added, “We’re a cross between The Simpsons and Roseanne here because we go from 0 to 60 in 2.2 seconds.”

The atmosphere in which the Bangs employees sat, expressionless on the edges of their seats, gave way at approximately 1:30 p.m. Their radios blared the message that there was an “MVA,” or motor vehicle accident, on Elmira Road in Ithaca, involving two cars with unknown injuries to one passenger.

The emergency response team of paramedic Richard Johnston, Ernie and EMT Glenn flew down the bunkhouse stairs and had the rig out of the garage within 2 minutes.

Ernie referred to the call as a “typical MVA.” Johnston quickly responded, “There is no such thing as typical on this job. Everything is up in the air.”

Ernie said, “We see everything here. The good, the bad and the ugly.” Johnston retorted, “Yeah, and you’re the ugly.”

The entire four-minute drive to Elmira Road from West State Street was filled with the unique Bangs brand of ribbing, but as Ernie said, “All of that goes out the window when we get there.”

The Elmira Road MVA involved a male who had no injuries and an elderly woman from Newfield who complained of back and shoulder pain, and whose car suffered some body damage. The EMTs were allowed and required to provide care under New York State law, because the Newfield woman specifically said that she wished to be taken to the hospital.

Ernie, who also works as a fireman in Ithaca, is in training to be a Critical Care EMT, which he described as “one step below being a paramedic.” Johnston, who has been working in emergency response for 13 years, is overseeing his training.

Johnston said, “With MVAs I like to assess the damage to the cars first, to see where the drivers could be hurt. I joke with 99 percent of the patients, because taking their minds off things is a way of healing. But if it’s critical, I don’t ask, I tell.”

Ernie proceeded to take the patient’s blood pressure, check her lung function and assess her back and neck for any breaks. He then checked her pupils and said, “Look deeply into my eyes, my dear,” which was met with a quiet and coquettish chuckle.

The patient, who now sat comfortably, but strapped into the gurney, said in disbelief, “I’m 83 years old and I’ve never been in an accident before.”

Ernie replied, “Get out. You can’t be a day over 50,” just as the ambulance pulled into the emergency room area of Cayuga Medical Center.

Ernie, Glenn and Johnston stayed with their patient until a nurse, whom they briefed on the situation and the woman’s complaints, arrived. The sheets on the gurney were then replaced, after a mock argument over who would do it, before the team departed.

On this atypically slow afternoon, the rig made its way back to the bunkroom, the house of the Bangs family, in which very little living is done. Before entering the staircase to head for the bunkroom’s common area, Johnston motioned to the rig and said, “We live in there.”

To some, bowling is considered an occasional night out. To Ithaca’s bowling leagues, however, it’s an important part of every week.

Bowl-O-Drome, located on Third Street, provides a space for these bowlers to meet, hosting different leagues every night of the week. Bowl-O-Drome’s walls surround one of these leagues every Tuesday evening at 5:30 for their season running from September through April.

Upon the entrance to Bowl-O-Drome, your eyes are greeted by a shoe wall to your left and bright lanes to your right. Your nose breathes in the smell of $7 pitchers and the aroma of bowling shoes, while your ears welcome the chatter and the sounds of the pins falling to the ground as all the bowlers try to knock them down. Tuesday night’s league includes The Keglers, Four Pitchers, Tradition, Haunters, Phive Engineers, Landkill, and Sandbaggers. Each has three teammates and compete for the highest final score of the night, which all eventually get tallied together to determine the champion for the season.

Like many sports, the seasons are broke up into Winter and Spring segments. The Winter session winner plays the Spring’s first place team, to decide the bowling league’s champion team for the year.

“The Keglers won the first half of the season, now they’re in second place. Tradition is in the lead for this half,” Bob Eastman, of the Hunters, says. The two highest scoring teams will play each other at the end of the 30 weeks, which is fast approaching.

An evening for the bowlers starts with a round of beers while the league members catch up with each other. The night
stretches over three games for each team, lasting about a half hour a game, ending the night at around 7:00.

The atmosphere that Bowl-O-Drome has created for the bowling leagues is full of support and lighthearted fun. To the outsider, the term “bowling league” might create images of die hard bowlers such as the serious players in Professional Bowlers Association, or the National Bowling League. Players committed to Ithaca’s bowling league do not take on such a serious outlook, however. Liz McCartney, a member of the Tuesday evening league, says “it’s more of a social thing.”

McCartney used to play volleyball competitively when she was younger, so she keeps that at the top of her list as her favorite sport. The bowling league creates more of an atmospheric event than a sport she takes too seriously. “I only come during the league times – I never practice on the weekends or anything.”

Although there are cash incentives for the winning team, the players remember above all to have a good time, and enjoy the friends they surround themselves with.

Four years ago, Ides Bowling Alley located in East Hill Plaza was torn down, leaving Bowl-O-Drome and the Helen Newman Bowling Center located in Cornell University the only two standing bowling alleys in Ithaca. The Ides league made the transition swiftly over to Bowl-O-Drome.

McCartney, who has been bowling with the league for ten years, comes mostly for the social aspect. Her team, the Hunters, have had the same three team members since she joined. One of the members, Bob Eastman, has been bowling in Ithaca since around ’75, while John Deraddo, the teams third member, has been playing since ’98.
The cost to be in the bowling league is affordable, with small increments paid once a week. “There’s a $25 sanction fee to join, and after that it’s on a weekly basis,” Dustin Burns, a member of the Lanekill team says. Every week, the league members pay the $13 admission fee to the bowling alley. $9.50 goes towards lane fees, and every $3.50 left over goes into the pot for the winners of the season.

Skills grow immensely in each player of the team through weekly practicing. The thuds of the bowling balls falling and gliding down the lanes are almost always struck by a loud crack, knocking many, if not all of the pins to the ground. “It’s all about balance,” McCartney says. Like any other sport, bowling has its own special tricks to perfect the game. Although Ithaca’s bowling league isn’t full of professionals, the talent shines through in every ball the players swing down the lane.

So if you’re looking to try on the sport and improve your skills with other interested people, Bowl-O-Drome invites anyone who desires to join. “Each league has eight teams, and anyone can join,” Bob Eastman, from the Hunters, says. “Leagues meet every night of the week, so there’s always space available.”

Try taking a walk in someone’s bowling shoes for a day down at Bowl-O-Drome, and see what all the fuss is about.