Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor

CUPD officers stand between Pro-Palestinian protesters and Myron Taylor Hall, where the Board of Trustees met Friday.

October 19, 2024

What Happened at CML’s Board of Trustees Walkout

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Over 150 protesters staged a walkout outside of the Law School during Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting, calling on the University to divest from weapons manufacturers supplying Israel with arms.

The Coalition for Mutual Liberation, a pro-Palestinian student activism group, announced the walkout two weeks in advance, tabling at Klarman Hall to encourage participation and organizing a mass meeting on Wednesday to answer questions and make signs.

The walkout occurred on the same day as a similar protest on Brown’s campus held by the Brown Divest Coalition.

Demonstrators first gathered at Ho Plaza at 1 p.m. on Friday to deliver speeches prior to the walkout. Many hid their faces with masks, hoods, hats and keffiyehs. Between speeches, those who did not cover their faces were encouraged to wear masks distributed by people circulating through the crowd.

Pro-Palestinian protesters crowd Ho Plaza as the rally commences. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)

“I have just one question — When does it end?” one speaker asked the crowd. “How do you tell a mother that their child is an acceptable casualty? How do you tell a child that their parents had to die because the IDF claims they were in the same area as a group of resistance fighters?”

Prof. Juliana Hu Pegues, literatures in English, delivered a speech criticizing Boeing’s history of defense contracting for profit, which was punctuated with chants of “F*ck Boeing!” from the crowd. These outbursts were soon replaced with cries of “F*ck Cornell!” and “F*ck Kraig Kayser” ’MBA ’84, chairman of the Board — chants that were reprised later in the walkout.

During the speeches, The Sun observed a masked protester bumping into Amanda Silberstein ’26, vice president of Cornellians for Israel and Cornell Chabad, who wore a Star of David, a ‘bring them home’ tag and carried a water bottle with an Israeli flag sticker. A masked protester locked eyes with her and thrust his backpack into her before screaming that she was in his way, according to Silberstein.

“I wasn’t saying anything [or] doing anything offensive, simply standing there observing, being myself, and this man decided to resort to violence just because he simply disagreed with me,” Silberstein said. “As someone who believes in the power of free speech and respectful discourse, it’s frankly disheartening and troubling that peaceful dialogue has been replaced by violence and has really become unattainable on this campus.”

She identified the masked protester as Hasham Khan ’26. Khan told The Sun his backpack accidentally bumped into Silberstein, whom he did not see. Khan said Silberstein pushed herself against the backpack. He denied Silberstein’s claim that he screamed at her, saying he apologized as he was walking away.

“I turned around to see her willingly pushing herself into my backpack. I said, ‘Don’t do that. My bad,’ clarifying don’t push yourself into me, and my bad if I pushed into you, and then I kept walking.”

After 45 minutes of speeches, the crowd began to march down College Avenue to the Myron Taylor Hall courtyard. As they walked, they chanted “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.” Cornell University Police Department officers directed traffic as the protesters crossed the intersection.

Protesters make their way down Ho Plaza, heading toward the Law School, where the Cornell Board of Trustees held its meeting Friday. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)

About a dozen CUPD officers, Public Safety Ambassadors and private security guards lined the Myron Taylor Hall courtyard and protected building entrances. Protesters entered the courtyard and assembled in a tight circle close to one of the doorways.

At the center of their circle, demonstrators erected a tent on the courtyard grass.

Protesters pitch a tent at the Myron Taylor Hall Courtyard. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)

“We are putting up these tents as a symbol of Palestinian resistance,” protesters said. “People in Gaza continue to be displaced, living in tents that are moments later bombed and set ablaze by Israel. This is a symbol of our solidarity with the liberation of people.”

At around 2:15 p.m., protesters began beating on the side of Myron Taylor Hall while chanting “. Officers moved in single file, placing themselves between the protesters and a door leading into Myron Taylor Hall and directing the demonstrators to stop hitting the building. The protestors moved away from the doorway while chanting “CUPD, KKK, IDF, they’re all the same.”

A meeting attendee peeks behind the conference hall curtain to look over the rally. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)

“Cornell trustees, we see you. You fund genocide too,” chanted protesters as they marched out of the law school at about 2:45 p.m., pouring a red liquid over the stairs leading out of the courtyard before heading towards West Campus along Campus Rd, slowing traffic.

Fake blood is left on the stairs as protesters exit the courtyard and walk down College Avenue. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)

Protesters dispersed shortly after arriving at the bottom of Libe Slope. At time of publication, CUPD’s online crime log does not list any arrests in connection with Friday’s walkout.

The walkout comes days after the University suspended four students because of their involvement in a career fair disruption on Sept. 18, barring them from campus for three years.

CUPD officers kept protesters in one lane as students slowed traffic when marching toward West Campus. (Stephan Menasche/Sun Staff Photographer)

Aarush Rompally ’27 is a Sun contributor and can be reached at [email protected].

Correction, Oct. 26, 8:15 p.m.: A previous photo caption misidentified one of the meeting attendees as a trustee.

Correction, Oct. 26, 8:15 p.m.: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that police intervened after protesters banged on a drum. The protesters were actually hitting the side of Myron Taylor Hall.

Update 10/19, 4 p.m.: This article has been updated to include quotes from Amanda Silberstein ’26 and Hasham Khan ’26 about an altercation that occurred at the walkout.