Forced to actually dress nicely
On Friday, October 13, an attack occurred against the film student community at Ithaca College that rocked the entire city: John Smith, a twenty-two year old film student, showed up to class wearing a suit. The class affected by this horrific event, Advanced Film Aesthetics and Analysis, meets every Friday at 1:00 pm in the Roy H. Park School of Communications. A class of fifteen seniors were already in the room when John Smith arrived on the fateful day, barely sliding in before class started, as usual. The horrific sight of Smith’s attire injured three individuals who are now at Cayuga Medical Center, one of whom is said to be in critical condition, though all three are stable.
One of the students who was injured said, “I can’t believe that John could betray us like this. Who does he think he is?”
The injured students were so appalled by what they saw that they began to vomit uncontrollably. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said professor Stan Fillmore. “I’m lucky that I’m still breathing.”
The attack is not thought to be part of a larger movement, and the motivations behind it are still under investigation. The perpetrator, John Smith, is a senior film student at Ithaca College who has shown no prior signs of any violence. He has blended in with his fellow film students well, wearing only jeans and a gray T-shirt almost every day of the week, except for his Fight Club T-shirt he wears at least once a week. He has also become a respected part of the community, even joining the film fraternity Omega Delta. Friend of Smith, George Johnson said, “I never saw this coming. He was always such a nice kid.” After being removed from the premises by campus police, Smith was detained for 24 hours before being released.
After being released Smith apologized and explained his actions saying, “I am deeply sorry for all those I hurt. I know it’s no excuse, but I had not done my laundry in over a month, and the suit was the only thing I could find to wear that did not make me heave from its smell. I only had it because I planned to be James Bond for Halloween. I know I can in no way make up for my actions, and I should have thought more deeply about what I was doing before taking such egregious action. I cannot apologize enough nor adequately express the guilt and shame I feel. I hope someday I might be forgiven, but I know that is a lot to ask.”
To prevent future attacks, Ithaca College is planning to add a guard at every entrance of the Roy H. Park School of Communications during class hours.
Sydney Joyce is a second-year writing major who is still recovering from seeing a Park boy not covered in trash. You can reach them at [email protected].