Three students, dressed as Presidents George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, protested Cornell’s scheduling of classes on President’s Day yesterday afternoon.
The students, Robert Favelukes ’02, Matthew White ’04 and Harry Einbinder ’02, began picketing inside of Willard Straight Hall at approximately 1 p.m.
“Our goal was to make a scene and be heard,” Einbinder said.
“It doesn’t feel right to have class on a national holiday,” Favelukes said. “We wanted students to sign a petition so we wouldn’t have class on President’s Day.”
Approximately two hundred students signed the petition, according to Favelukes.
The three protested for 20 minutes until Straight staff confronted them and asked them to leave. Favelukes, White and Einbinder refused to leave, and Cornell University police were called.
Police Action
Cornell police arrived at the Straight around 1:25 “to calm us down,” Einbinder said. The students were asked to go to police headquarters, where they “were informed of proper protesting procedures,” he explained.
The students were not pressed with any charges, according to Sergeant Daniel Murphy Jr., CUPD. He could not comment further on the incident.
“We got our message out,” Einbinder said. “We’re happy with the outcome.”
Archived article by Marc Zawel