Vice President of University Relations Joel Malina said the University would allow a Ku Klux Klan representative on campus if invited by a faculty member or student group, after being asked by Cornell Hillel’s Executive Director Rabbi Ari Weiss on a private Zoom call with Jewish parents on Monday evening.
Concerned about the implications of the statement on minority students’ safety, Black Students United is now calling for Malina’s removal from office, with about 180 students rallying from William Straight Hall to Day Hall at noon on Friday.
“Fire Joel Malina!” and “Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Joel Malina has got to go,” protesters chanted as they marched to Day Hall. Once there, they taped a sheet with their demands to the entrance of the building.
In addition to firing Malina, BSU urged the University to reverse the suspension of international graduate student Momodou Taal, bargain with Cornell Graduate Students United over Taal’s working conditions, revise the Interim Expressive Activity Policy and decrease police presence and surveillance at protests.
BSU, which encompasses dozens of cultural, mentorship, performance, professional and Greek organizations, argued Malina’s remarks endanger students.
In the days leading up to the rally, BSU held an emergency meeting and community action night to advocate for Malina’s firing.
“All students of color at Cornell are under attack by administration. We do not feel safe, seen or heard. Help amplify our voices, we are stronger together,” an Instagram post advertising the community action night read.
Other campus organizations including La Asociación Latina, Native American and Indigenous Students at Cornell, the South Asian Council and Haven also condemned Malina’s remarks through social media.
“The events of the last two days mean nothing could be the same,” one of the masked protest speakers said. “I see my community mobilized the way I never could have imagined. Now we can’t go back.”
Just one day before Malina’s comment was reported by The Sun, BSU leadership met with Interim President Michael Kotlikoff and Vice President of Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi regarding concerns for student safety following the suspension of international graduate student Momodou Taal over his involvement in a career fair disruption.
If Taal is withdrawn from the University, he will be in violation of his F-1 visa status, likely leading to his deportation.
Nearly 20 other pro-Palestinian protesters who helped shut down the career fair — which was attended by defense contractors Boeing and L3Harris — have been identified through video and photographic evidence and have been referred for disciplinary action, according to a Monday afternoon email from Kotlikoff to the Cornell community.
Kotlikoff wrote that protesters were explicitly told that they were not permitted to enter Statler Hotel by Cornell University Police Department officers. They pushed through police at the ground-floor and second-floor entrances, according to Kotlikoff.
Sun reporters at the career fair did not witness violence against law enforcement.
“This past year, we have seen which lives Cornell values over others,” one of the masked protest speakers said, “They don’t look like you and me.”