Athletic facilities
You are eligible to purchase a Cornell Fitness Centers summer membership. A full membership costs $70 for the summer. Detailed information, including fitness class schedules, is available here.
Memberships may be purchased at 319 Helen Newman Hall from 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday. Please bring your SCT name badge and an official photo ID. CFC accepts credit card payments, checks, and money orders. It does not accept cash payments. Unfortunately, partners are not able to purchase memberships to Cornell Fitness Centers. If your partner is interested in joining a fitness center this summer, try Island Health and Fitness (607) 277-3861; 310 Taughannock Blvd. – on the inlet) or Planet Fitness–(607) 319-0763–in the Shops at Ithaca Mall.
Auditing
SCT participants may not audit an additional six-week seminar. If you have questions about this policy, please address them to Hent de Vries or James Utz.
Banking
The Tompkins Trust Company and CFCU Credit Union have branches located in The Cornell Store for your convenience.
Bicycles
The Outdoor Store, located on the Commons downtown, will rent bicycles at daily or weekly rates. Discounts for long-term rentals are offered. If you are interested in renting a bike during the session, please call (607) 273-3891 for more information. There is also a new app-based bikeshare program in Ithaca, Lime Bike, and you will see their bicycles everywhere. There is also a campus bikeshare program, affiliated with Zagster. Finally, if you are looking for an electric bike, you can rent one from Boxy Bikes.
Books
Books for all of the six-week seminars are available for purchase at The Cornell Store. The Cornell Store will be open Monday through Friday, 8:00am through 6:00pm throughout the session.
Most SCT textbooks are also available on reserve at Olin Library circulation desk. Participants may access the books by providing the call numbers, available through the Cornell Library Catalog, to the desk staff.
Assuming that you love bookstores, you’ll also want to visit Buffalo Street Books, The Bookery, and Autumn Leaves Books downtown.
Cinema
Ithaca has an independent movie house on the Commons, Cinemapolis, devoted to first-run foreign, independent, and locally-produced features. For major studio releases, there is Regal Cinemas in the Ithaca Mall.
Coffee!
Gimme! Coffee is an Ithaca original, although those who live in NYC may be familiar with its locations there. There are two Gimme! storefronts downtown, another in Gates Hall on the Cornell campus, and one at the Community Corners shopping center in Cayuga Heights. Gimme! roasts are also served on campus at the Temple of Zeus and Manndible Cafe (the latter, probably, being the best place to get hot and cold espresso beverages on campus). Also downtown is Ithaca Coffee Company, located roughly a block east of the Commons. Starbucks has locations in Collegetown and downtown, and its coffee is also served at the Libe Cafe in Olin Library.
Colloquia
Colloquia will meet on Thursday afternoons throughout the program (beginning the second week of the session) from 3:00pm-5:00pm in 253 Malott Hall. The paper for each colloquium will be left in your mail folder one week in advance of the colloquium whenever possible. (Please note that a final discussion among the faculty and participants of issues raised throughout the program will be held on the last Thursday afternoon of the session.)
Computing
The schedule for Cornell’s public computer labs may be found on the Cornell IT website. If you have any questions about computing at Cornell, please contact the CIT at (607) 255-5500 or check their website. The IT Service Desk is located at 121 Computing and Communications Center on the Ag Quad. Office and phone hours are held Monday through Friday from 6am-6pm. If you need to buy computer supplies, the Cornell Store has a computer department.
Dining/drinking
Find various eateries and bars by category (prices, neighborhoods, cuisines, features) and read reviews for the best local fare on Ithaca’s Yelp page.
Dining on campus: you can visit the “See What’s Open” page at Cornell Dining (click on “Central Campus”) to check the business hours of many campus eateries, including the Libe Cafe in Olin Library. Not listed on this page, though, are the Temple of Zeus in the Klarman Hall atrium (soups, sandwiches) and the Manndible Cafe in Mann Library, on the Ag Quad (locally-sourced baked goods, burrito bar Monday-Thursday, curry bar Fridays). Additionally, there are many eateries in Collegetown, within easy walking distance.
Dormitory
Non-urgent maintenance issues may be directed to Conference Services staff at the Robert Purcell Community Center. If you need to report an urgent maintenance issue, please call Conference Services: 607.255.2288. If you have any general questions or problems with your accommodations at Anna Comstock Hall, please contact Paige Hunt at eph53@cornell.edu.
Those of you who have been issued Cornell Network Identities should carefully read the information packet that accompanies your netID and password. If you have any questions about the use of your netID, please contact the IT Service Desk at 607.255.5500.
Farmers’ Market
The Ithaca Farmers’ Market is located at the Steamboat Landing on the lake at the intersection of Route 13 and Third Street. The Market is open every Saturday from 9am-3pm and every Sunday from 10am-3pm. For more info, visit: www.ithacamarket.com
Groceries
The two largest grocery stores, Wegmans and Tops, are located next to each other on Route 13. There are also three natural foods grocery stores, Greenstar Cooperative Markets. The flagship location is located on the corner of Fulton St. and Buffalo St. and there is a smaller store located in the Dewitt Mall, just off the Ithaca Commons downtown, and a new location in Collegetown. Wegmans and Tops are accessible by TCAT bus route 15, which leaves from the Seneca Street Commons bus stop on the hour every weekday between 8 am and 7 pm.
Ice cream!
No summer in the Ithaca area would be complete without sampling the local creameries. Purity Ice Cream, in business since 1936, is a must-visit. Sweet Melissa’s is a relative newcomer, but highly recommended, and has two locations downtown. (Both of these feature vegan and/or lactose-free options.) If you have a car, Cayuga Lake Creamery is worth the short (beautiful) drive up to Interlaken—and they have just opened a small location at the Ithaca Mall. And, of course, we have the Cornell Dairy Bar right here on campus–it’s a bit of a walk from the A.D. White House, but you will feel like you’ve earned your scoop(s)!
International students
International Services, in the Office of Global Learning, The International Students and Scholars Office is located at 300 Caldwell Hall. Walk-in advising is available Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. You may also contact the office via e-mail at international@cornell.edu or by phone at 607-255-5243.
Kitchen
SCT has provided dishes, glasses and mugs, silverware, pots and pans, and assorted cooking utensils for use in the Anna Comstock Hall kitchen. SCT cannot provide additional kitchen supplies, so please take care of these loaned items.
Each SCT participant has a mail folder in room 201 of the A.D. White House. Your mail will be sorted each day and left in your folder for you. As papers for the colloquia and mini-seminars are made available, a copy will be left in each participant’s mail folder. Any requests processed by the SCT staff will be left in that folder as well. Please check your folder as regularly as possible.
Outgoing mail should be taken to the Cornell Post Market located on the upper level of The Cornell Store. Outgoing mail cannot be sent through the A.D. White House Mail Room.
Medical services
Cornell Health is located on Cornell’s Campus. Their summer hours are Monday-Friday 10:00 am -4:30 pm. If you incur an injury or illness on campus, they can provide first aid/stabilizing care, consultation, and referrals to local urgent care providers. Cornell Health will bill some insurance companies directly. If you would like to make an appointment or ask questions about Cornell Health’s services, please call (607) 255-5155.
Urgent Care at Cayuga Medical Center, a private facility located in Northeast Ithaca, also accepts walk-in appointments. They will bill some insurance companies directly. If you have any questions about Urgent Care’s services please call (607) 274-4150. NB: You may hear locals referring to this facility as “Convenient Care,” its previous name. There is also wellnow Urgent Care, south of downtown on Meadow Street.
Cayuga Medical Center houses the closest emergency room.
Parking
Please observe all Cornell University parking regulations. If you are interested in obtaining a parking permit, please contact Parking and Transportation at (607)255-5322 for more information. SCT is not liable for tickets issued to you by Transportation Services while you are in residence at Cornell.
Printing
Printing services are available via Cornell Print Services, as well as the UPS Store and Uncle Marty's Shipping Office in Collegetown
Schedule
A calendar of events can be viewed here. Please refer to the bulletin board outside room 201 of the A.D. White House each morning for updates or changes. Note that all public lectures will be held in Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, 132 Goldwin Smith Hall.
Spouses and partners
You are encouraged to bring your spouse or partner to all scheduled public events and all social events. All other events, including the seminars and the colloquia, are open only to those participants formally enrolled in a seminar.
Staff
Laura Kipfer Program Coordinator | 255-2445 | lek95@cornell.edu
At least one SCT staff member will be available to answer questions during regular office hours: Monday through Thursday, 9:00am-4:30pm and Friday 9:00am-4:00pm.
Swimming
There are many indoor and outdoor swimming venues, including the Helen Newman Center on the Cornell campus (see above, under “athletic facilities”). You can find a comprehensive list at http://www.ithacafamilyfun.info/swimming.
Transportation
Maps and schedules for major campus and area bus routes are posted on the bulletin board outside room 201 of the A.D. White House. For further information, visit the TCAT website: http://www.tcatbus.com
If you didn’t bring a car and find yourself in need of one, Ithaca Carshare offers hourly and monthly plans, with vehicles available for pickup at several locations downtown and near campus.
Uber and Lyft are now operating in Ithaca; for a “traditional” cab, most people’s go-to taxi company is Collegetown Cab, at 607-588-8888.