Commission Releases Cortaca Report

06/06/2014 

The College and Community Commission last week released its final report on issues surrounding the 2013 Cortaca weekend, recommending a multi-pronged approach to preventing similar problems in the future.

The report includes nine general recommendations for consideration by SUNY Cortland President Erik Bitterbaum and Cortland Mayor Brian Tobin. The two leaders, who requested that the commission be created, will now decide how to move forward on the issue. 

The full report - including findings, recommendations and associated documents - is available on the College and Community Commission website: cortland.edu/commission

The 21-member commission began looking into the causes of the destructive behavior surrounding last year’s annual SUNY Cortland-Ithaca College football game six months ago, gathering information from varied segments of the community.

Students, faculty and staff played an active role in public meetings held by the commission, and their involvement will be critical to moving forward on the recommendations, Bitterbaum said.

The commission report will be discussed with campus leaders this week during the annual president’s retreat, he said.

“All of us have a role to play in making Cortland a safer, more respectful community,” Bitterbaum said. “As an educational institution, we owe it to our students to help them understand that some of the behavior exhibited during Cortaca is inappropriate and unacceptable.”