Ithaca College may be small, but we have more fun than you

Every time I tell people I go to Ithaca College, I get asked “Ithaca? Where is that?” It doesn’t matter if I say it’s in Ithaca, NY or in the finger lakes region.

They will never know what school I’m talking about until I tell them it’s the school in the same town as Cornell University: “Ahhh, I know where that is now” they say, as if Ithaca, NY weren’t enough.

It’s time we give Ithaca College (IC) an ode so people recognize that even though we are not a big university, we are doing things bigger and better than those universities ever will.

I am going into my last year here at Ithaca College (brb, crying) and there are so many reasons why I call Ithaca College my ‘home away from home’.

The college town

According to Business Insider and many other platforms, Ithaca College is located in the TOP and BEST U.S college towns. But for Ithaca students this doesn’t come as a surprise – we already know the town is full of vibrant people, restaurants and things to do.

Every year, the Downtown Ithaca Alliance organizes festivals that bring the community together through rain, snow or shine. We have the Chili Festival, Apple Festival, Winter festival and BEST of all – Wizarding Weekend.

For all you Harry Potter fans, Wizarding Weekend transforms Press Bay Alley in Ithaca into Diagon Alley. It is definitely a MUST!

“Ithaca is Gorges”

Many people refer to Ithaca as “Ithaca is Gorges” because of all the dams and gorges that bring people together to swim, hike and even take amazing photographs.

Most IC students can be seen swimming at First Dam and Second Dam – it usually gets really crowded at the beginning and end of the school year. Who needs the pool or beach to have fun when you can enjoy such pristine nature?

The seasons

Every season in Ithaca is ‘gorges’. Although we are known for our really cold weather, the beautiful fall colors, winter snow and spring weather does not go unnoticed.

Social life

Universities have the biggest fraternities and parties, but Ithaca knows what’s up when it comes to having a good time and drinking tons of booze.

IC people usually go to parties at Circle apartments or even off-campus, but most can be found at Moonies Bar and Night Club getting ‘lit’ with DJ Washburn.

Then we have our two annual IC traditions – Kendall Day and Prospect Day – where students go out to party and drink all day long on Kendall Street and Prospect Street on two different days. There have been many occasions where police have tried to stop these events, but they have never succeeded.

Sports

We may not have the top teams, but our sports fans know how to have fun. Every fall we have our biggest sporting event of the year, Cortaca – a football rivalry game between IC and SUNY Cortland (Fun fact: It’s the ONLY  D3 football game you can bet on in Las Vegas).

People start drinking two days before the event, tailgate and throw big parties to celebrate – win OR lose. It’s a fun event for everyone, unless you’re an RA who is on duty, and then we are all really sorry. Although we haven’t won in the last few years, we are hoping to take the win this year. Who said D3 schools are boring? GO IC BOMBERS!

Our campus

Ithaca College is the perfect campus for anyone who is looking to get away from busy city life, or just wanting a community of their own that they don’t feel lost in.

Ithaca College is also known to have one of the best communications, business and music schools in the country, allowing students to get a great education in any field they desire – we are ranked in the Top 10 by Best College US News.

Not to mention that the walks to and from class are so short, I have rolled out of bed 15 minutes before and still managed to get to class on time. It’s a pretty easy walk unless you live in Circle Apartments that are on the other side of campus or your classes are on the other side of the hill.

Overall, Ithaca College is a place we learn to call home from our classes to our dorms. With just 6,200 students and such beautiful scenery, we always find ourselves contemplating whether we should go home for breaks or not.

Ithaca College isn’t just an ordinary small college. We are a college full of students doing big things, turning up on the weekends (even schooldays), and living the good life in a small town. So here’s to small schools and most of all, here is an ode to Ithaca College.