On 143 E. State St. in the center of Ithaca Commons, you will find The Yellow Deli, a restaurant that specializes in traditional sandwiches, salads, soups and tea. The deli is owned by the 12 Tribes, a group that has existed for over a half century and self-describes itself as “an emerging spiritual nation… made up of self-governing communities.” Really, it’s an international cult that professes morally objectionable beliefs.
Recently, there has been much angst over the inclusion of The Yellow Deli on Cornell Dining’s City Bucks meal program — which which allows you to use a Cornell ID at various stores and eateries around Ithaca. This addition comes despite . This addition comes despite the intercontinental religious group beingbeing considered by the Southern Poverty Law Center to hold white supremacist and homophobic beliefs along with a concerning track record relating to child labor and child abuse. I’m not sure why, but Cornell gives visibility to a racist, homophobic cult by letting you use your City Bucks there.
The inclusion of a restaurant owned by such a group on a Cornell Dining Plan is deeply hypocritical for a University that trumpets “any person, any study.” I would be shocked if more than a tiny fraction of the Cornell population aligned their beliefs with those of the twelve tribes.
It’s ridiculous for Cornell Dining to onboard a deli owned by such a group onto the City Bucks, and it is strange that the restaurant has been left off the online offerings of City Bucks. Ithaca College’s ID Express on the other hand, presents The Yellow Deli as an off-campus offering on their website. Is Cornell hiding their decision to endorse a hateful group, or was it an oversight?
I haveI have emailed and called Cornell Dining to get insight about the application and acceptance process for additions to the City Bucks program and heard that my heard that my messages have been received. However, I have gotten no official response. I have gotten no official responseprobably because, probably because there are no explanations that put University in a positive position optically.
If, which I hope to be the case, Cornell’s endorsement of The Yellow Deli is simply an accident on the part of Cornell Dining, the question of what little background check the school does when promoting establishments needs to be asked. Why don’t they screen the restaurants they endorse? Why don’t they screen the restaurants they endorse?
If, on the other hand, if if Cornell was aware of the troubling history of the 12 Tribes and still decided to add them to the City Bucks roster, then the administration and other University officials need to speak to why a restaurant owned by the group is effectively being subsidized by Cornell. The University should never moral objections under the rug.The University should never sweep moral objections under the rug.
Neither option presents the University in a positive light. The first points to extreme negligence within Cornell and reflects poorly on Cornell Dining as a whole; the second points to a far too laxlax approach to increasing the school’s off-campus dining services. Typically, I am not a fan of cancellation for views or ideas that conflict with my own, but at some point institutions and organizations that promote crimes against children need to be prevented from having a spot on the Cornell Dining Plan.
The sign that declares The Yellow Deli to be “Cornell approved” has not been up for long, and if the University believes in their stated mottos and core values with any sense of seriousness, the sign should not be up for much longer.
And when that sign gets taken down, it should be accompanied by a transparent apology from Cornell Dining to the entire community explaining why and how The Yellow Deli even received the ability to accept City Bucks in the first place.
Noah Farb is a first year student in the College of Arts and Sciences. His fortnightly column Thinking Critically discusses politics and current events. He can be reached at nef36@cornell.edu.
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