In the realm of higher education, many seem to dwell in a state of naiveté. At Cornell, this affliction is all too familiar. Students, particularly those affiliated with the Coalition for Mutual Liberation, have fostered a political echo chamber in which radical and sometimes hateful action is neglected. Those who blatantly stray from the Student Code of Conduct are gently reprimanded, if at all. Administrators’ fear of issuing proper consequences proves that Day Hall’s residents have been comfortable with a new culture that feeds the egos of rule-breakers.
Yet a different culture once reigned: a legacy of civil reform has flowed as long as Fall Creek’s waters have. Jennie Spencer made history as the first woman to enroll in an Ivy League institution. Former Cornell President James Perkins established the Committee on Special Educational Projects, an initiative to boost Black enrollment, merely two years after John F. Kennedy’s adoption of affirmative action Executive Order 10925 of 1961. But today, rampant breaches of conduct and unwillingness to collaborate with administrators has degraded this legacy. A culture that perpetuates division is sowed with no expected, nor sought after, resolution.
These statements are by no means arbitrary. On Oct. 7, the Coalition for Mutual Liberation announced a “vigil” for Palestine which occurred at nearly the same hour Cornell Hillel’s vigil transpired in Ho Plaza. This announcement came hours after Hillel posted information pertaining to their Memorial Week agenda. I am not Jewish, but it is evident that this motion did not come from a place of peace. A vigil to honor on the anniversary of Hamas’s rampage in Israel was completely warranted. CML’s simultaneous event in which they claimed to grieve “a year of US and Israel-perpetrated violence” is sufficient evidence that their agenda has no remorse for the Jews slaughtered in cold blood just over a year ago.
At the Student Assembly’s initial reading of the modified divestment proposal, Resolution 8, Netanel Alexandre Shapira ‘24 lamented on CML’s vigil which he asserted “celebrated their martyrs” while Jewish students were in a time of mourning, just days before the High Holidays. He contended that groups like CML “work so hard to mask themselves both physically and figuratively” in such events to hide their anti-semitic values in his dissent against the motion formulated by Imani Rezaka ‘25 and Karys Everett ‘25, whose support for the reform was meager, at best.
The fine line between hatred and resistance has become nearly indistinguishable; some Jewish students have expressed great sadness with the current modes of counterprotesting and the loss of reasonable discourse. This startling rise in radicalism, which has contributed to a student body that has become detached from greater society, proves catastrophic for such underrepresented groups.
Despite Interim President Michael Kotlikoff’s administration toughening their grasp on conduct violations as this peculiar line narrows, further measures ought to preserve the integrity of this institution. I argue that it is high time for a long-term system of consequences to reform the culture at Cornell.
This judgment does not come from a place of disdain. Frankly, Cornellians like CML’s Momodou Taal should tone down their hatred, acknowledge their privilege — and humble themselves. Some believe that our enrollment is cemented, that our tuition payments obligate the University to keep and cherish us, even when we bend (or outrightly defy) the rules. Yet they are gravely mistaken.
In recent weeks, Mr. Taal, a vehement proponent for Palestinian liberation and opponent of the Jewish State, has forfeited his enrollment as a PhD student, his visa and his academic future. He has been gifted with an elite education and the opportunity to teach. He has been consistently invoked as the ultimate representative of liberationist movements on campus. Decorated as he may be, he, among his numerous counterparts, was not satisfied.
When he trotted into the Statler Ballroom parading the throng of demonstrators, he practically accepted his fate. Upon his suspension last spring for his involvement in constructing and maintaining the 18-day-long encampment in the Arts Quad. He had previously praised Hamas’s militant agenda in an on-campus statement. Taal should have known not to tread on thin ice. But tread he did.
Taal’s persistent deviation warranted subsequent response from President Kotlikoff, a response that felt more authoritative and impassioned than former President Martha Pollack’s ever were. It set the record straight: that flagrant disregard for the Code would not be overlooked.
Under Taal’s position as liaison representative, the Coalition for Mutual Liberation caused more misery for hopeful, job-seeking ILRies than it was impactful in solving the Palestinian struggle. And oftentimes, career fairs provide immense benefit to those who otherwise lack connection to the professional world. Besides, it represented human resources sectors, not the engineers involved in weapon production. Really, what was the point anyway?
This radical movement is not confined to Cornell: Columbia University’s Task Force on Antisemitism released a comprehensive report on the movements that maimed Jewish students throughout the duration of their respective encampment. Surely new stringent initiatives have bolstered on-campus safety and assured Jewish students that violations would not go unnoticed. But will this system of consequences last? We may only hope.
I applaud Mr. Taal’s commitment as he continues to appeal to President Kotlikoff and the provost under the pretext that labor law and due process were dismissed. I appreciate the liberties Cornellians have been given. But on a more salient note, Cornellians are not constrained in heeding to the current issue. Alongside administrators, we have the agency to reform a system that prioritizes conduct standards and civility.
There are innumerable ways to go about this. We might look to how Cornell’s Political Union arranges formatted open floor debates, where each student who seeks to vocalize an argument does so in accordance with their constitution. We could seek resolutions in the presence of the Student Assembly. And with the assistance of the administration, we could even overhaul current free speech standards to improve discourse as Prof. Eric Beerbohn has at Harvard University. This goal is not only feasible, but necessary if Cornell hopes to mitigate hate and mediate campus dialogue, because god forbid another brick is chucked through the doors at Day Hall.
Our University is built on a culture of dissent — but we must understand the difference between dissent and hate. Cultural reform in favor of order, retributive justice, and effectual discourse is just what students — especially Jewish students — need.
Francis Jaso is a freshman. His fortnightly arts column “Contrarian’s Calamity” vouches for the unfavored controversies.
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