An email sent to Ithaca College students on July 22, 2020 stated that "the college will not be obligated to issue any partial refund or credit in the event of additional temporary closures, restrictions, and adjustments in the housing services scheduled during the academic year '20-21." This means the college is intending to force students to pay thousands of dollars for services they may not use. COVID-19 has presented inconceivable financial difficulties for the vast majority of Americans. For many college students, room and board fees place a heavy financial burden. While we understand the college's difficult current financial situation, it is unfair to refuse reimbursements. Binghamton University and Stony Brook University have both committed to reasonably refunding students for housing and meal plans in the event of students needing to leave campus.

It is simple: students pay for housing and meal plans and in the event that they are unable to use them, they must be refunded.

The students of Ithaca College call upon the college to retract their original statement that the college will not be responsible for refunding or crediting in the event of temporary closures, restrictions, or adjustments to housing services in the '20-21 academic year. We call upon the college to commit to reasonably refunding students for housing and meal plans in the event of students being forced to leave campus. 

We demand a response and action by Ithaca College by August 10, 2020, which is the payment deadline for fall semester listed on the Ithaca College website as of the publishing of this petition. In these difficult times, fairness and empathy should not be pushed to the side, rather they are of utmost importance to preserve.