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Cornell Palestinian Solidarity Encampment Closes

Protestors at Cornell’s Palestinian solidarity encampment took down tents and left the Arts Quad Monday. On April 25, the day the encampment was set up, Cornell’s administration told the group it had only hours to vacate. However, 18 days later, members of the Coalition for Mutual Liberation (or CML) voluntarily ended their occupation.  As dusk settled on campus, a group of about 225 students, staff, and community members gathered peacefully, for speeches, song and Christian, Jewish, and Muslim prayer. [The sounds of Palestinian Orthodox prayer.] Pundits and politicians including local congressman Mark Molinaro have called campus protestors “antisemitic” and “extremist.” But people at the assembly Monday repeatedly called for peace, liberation, and dignity…

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Cornell Palestinian Solidarity Encampment Closes

By Felix Teitelbaum

Protestors at Cornell’s Palestinian solidarity encampment took down tents and left the Arts Quad Monday. On April 25, the day the encampment was set up, Cornell’s administration told the group it had only hours to vacate. However, 18 days later, members of the Coalition for Mutual Liberation (or CML) voluntarily ended their occupation.  As dusk…

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Alcance Latino: Cornell Small Farms Program [in Spanish]

By Felix Teitelbaum

Spanish Farm Field Day at West Haven Farm (Photo: Jamie Johnson) Carlos Gutiérrez habla con Mildred Alvarado, María José Oviedo y Tim Shenk, quienes forman parte del programa Futuro en Ag en Cornell. Hablan sobre oportunidades educativas para agricultores de habla hispana y aspirantes a agricultores en el estado de Nueva York. Carlos Gutierrez speaks…

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Investment Crowdfunding Platform Launches In Ithaca

By Felix Teitelbaum

The buy local movement isn’t new. But now, an initiative in Ithaca is offering a different kind of opportunity: to invest in local businesses. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and GoFundMe are nothing new and are donation based. The new Ithaca Exchange is investment crowdfunding.  “Investment crowdfunding works with businesses to create actually SEC approved investment…

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Youth Farm Project Celebrates Earth Week with Greta Garrison of the Youth Radio Project

By Felix Teitelbaum

Youth Farm Project participants Stella Sapp-Dietrich and Etienne Exantus and Ray Hage Assistant Director of Cornell’s Science & Technology Entry Program (STEP) with Greta Garrison of the Youth Radio Project on WRFI.

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Latest from the WRFI News Team

Daily features and interviews from our community

Coronavirus Update, June 16, 2020

By WRFI News Staff | June 16, 2020 | Comments Off on Coronavirus Update, June 16, 2020

The 2020 Ithaca Festival has been cancelled due to COVID-19 and state regulations on large gatherings, reports Ithaca Journal. Yesterday’s announcement comes after the festival was rescheduled from June to August amid the pandemic. Ithaca Festival is a four-day event with a parade, performances, food and vendors that dates back to 1977. The next festival…

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Which Way Forward: A Black Lives Matter Forum [AUDIO]

By WRFI News Staff | June 15, 2020 | Comments Off on Which Way Forward: A Black Lives Matter Forum [AUDIO]

The coronavirus crisis has highlighted and exacerbated long-standing, racial and social inequities. Now, the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others have ignited renewed outrage and mobilization against systemic racism, oppression, and police violence. What can we learn from past struggles, and how can we build a strategy for dismantling the systems that…

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Ithaca Southside Community Center’s 2020 Virtual Juneteenth [AUDIO]

By WRFI News Staff | June 12, 2020 | Comments Off on Ithaca Southside Community Center’s 2020 Virtual Juneteenth [AUDIO]

Juneteeth commemorates the June 19th 1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas, and the emancipation of enslaved black people throughout America. Every year Ithaca’s Southside Community Center holds a festival to celebrate Juneteenth, and this year the festival will be held online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WRFI News Director Michayla Savitt spoke…

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New York Congressman Tom Reed (R) comments on proposed laws combating police brutality [AUDIO]

By Fred Balfour | June 12, 2020 | Comments Off on New York Congressman Tom Reed (R) comments on proposed laws combating police brutality [AUDIO]

It’s been two weeks since George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis policeman. Worldwide protests continue and federal and state governments are moving quickly to consider reform legislation. Congressman Tom Reed, who represents New York’s 23rd district, commented on the bills during a call with media. WRFI News Contributor Fred Balfour reports.  

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