Amid extensive political controversy, Student Assembly President Patrick Kuehl ’24 directed the S.A. Office of Ethics to investigate himself and several other Assembly members currently or formerly connected to either the Interfraternity Council or the Cornell Democrats.
In a March 22 letter to the editor, Kuehl explained that the investigation was prompted by The Sun’s recent reporting on alliances within the Student Assembly, which seem to implicate current Vice President of Finance George Rocco DeLorenzo ’24, ex-president Pedro Da Silveira ’25 and representative Clyde Lederman ’26 in scheming to utilize the voting power of a Greek life “machine.”
Text messages between then-IFC president DeLorenzo, Da Silveira and Lederman show several agreements to block legislation pertaining to fraternities in exchange for the IFC’s galvanizing political support in both Student Assembly and Common Council elections.
In the letter, Kuehl also condemned DeLorenzo’s stances on gender-related policies, as several messages obtained by The Sun demonstrate his efforts to block or mock resolutions about women’s health. The Sun recently reported that DeLorenzo told Da Silveira not to campaign on providing free date rape drug testing kits to fraternities through Cornell Health, explaining that there were “other ways to get the female vote.”
DeLorenzo disagreed with the Gender Justice Advocacy Coalition’s initiative to provide free menstrual products across campus restrooms, stating in a March 13, 2023, text message to Da Silveira: “If I see any more tampons in the men’s room, I’m going to lose it. Such a waste of money. … I’ll tell them to their face, there are only two genders.”
“I condemn in the strongest terms Rocco DeLorenzo’s positions on gender issues that impact our campus community,” Kuehl stated. “His views on the world do not represent mine.”
In an interview with The Sun, Kuehl explained that he included himself in the investigation to ensure transparency, though he maintains he did not commit any ethical violations.
“I don’t personally feel like I’ve done anything wrong. … The reason I got involved with the Student Assembly was to support my community, try to do what I felt was right, speak for the voices of the students and include voices from the entirety of the campus,” Kuehl said. “However, I understand that some people feel like I haven’t done that.”
S.A. Office of Ethics Chair Alhassan Bangura ’25 told The Sun that the Office of Ethics sent an email to Student Assembly members Friday informing them of the process of the ethical investigation.
Bangura said that the office has entered a preliminary stage of an investigation following the direction of Kuehl and other S.A. members. The office will convene over the weekend to formally vote on its continuation, according to Bangura.
The ethics office will sustain the investigation if a simple majority vote passes at this meeting. Bangura said that the office aims to produce results within the next two weeks should the investigation continue.
While Bangura said that his office intended to pursue the investigation on an “expedited timeline,” if enough S.A. members skip out on Thursday’s scheduled Assembly meeting — which takes place two days before the start of Cornell’s spring break — discussions surrounding the report would be pushed until after break and the investigation could take more than a week to complete.
Kuehl asked that the Cornell community “refrain from harassment, intimidation and physical acts of violence” against Student Assembly members and that students with information pertaining to the investigation contact the Office of Ethics.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article appeared shortly on The Sun’s website with an incomplete portrayal of the political dealings on the Student Assembly. The article has been republished to clarify the policy positions of several members.