As is customary for many college dormitories, walk into my suite in Bethe and you will find tacky nameplates adorning each door.

Last Friday was quite possibly one of the ugliest days of the year. Amidst the down pour, the wind and the negligible sun, I had the great fortune of showing around a family friend who had flown 2,000 miles across the country to come see Cornell in its springtime beauty. But who are we kidding … spring in Ithaca? After the warm, sunny, flip-flop weather I had just experienced the day before, I found myself in a relentless struggle to convince this prospective student that it’s not always like this. “If you were only here yesterday,” I told him, “you would fall in love with this place, I promise ... trust me ... please?” The more and more I talked in circles, the more I realized I wasn’t really trying to convince him. I was trying to convince myself. But why?

When I first heard Ann Coulter’s declaration that the College of Arts and Sciences was “the only Ivy League school at Cornell,” I was completely surprised. I did not realize that, according to Ms. Coulter’s definition, the whole of Cornell University itself was not an Ivy League institution. Now that I have been made fully aware of the situation, I think it is time that the students at the other colleges stand up and demand the treatment they deserve as “non-Ivy” students. I suggest that the only true differences between the Ivy League schools and other institutions of education are the Division I sports league, the expected workload, and the exclusive nature of being an “Ivy League” student.

Last week, the Ithaca Board of Education discussed a plan to phase out the middle school component of the Lehman Alternative Community School. This plan will remove a vibrant and integral part of a progressive school, and the Board of Education should keep this valuable component of the Ithaca public school system.

Local residents and students gathered yesterday at the Ithaca City School District’s offices to rally against what they see as tolerance of racism by the district.

The most publicized accusation of racism came from Ithaca resident Amelia Kearney, whose daughter reported she was physically and emotionally abused by her classmates two years ago at the district’s DeWitt Middle School.