The Cornell University Police Department has arrested a fourth student in connection to the Statler Hotel career fair disruption on Sept. 18. Sumitra Pandit ’26, a member of Cornell Students for Justice in Palestine, was arrested and charged with unlawful assembly and obstruction of government administration on Jan. 28.
In October, CUPD arrested Atakan Deviren ’27, Yihun Stith ’26 and graduate student Sriram Parasurama on the same charges. Since their initial appearance in Ithaca City Court on Nov. 6, Deviren’s case has been dropped due to a lack of specific references to him in filed court documents. Stith and Parasurama have both been issued an Adjournment Contemplating Dismissal — meaning they will receive a full dismissal of their charges after a period of time without further charges and with the completion of community service hours.
Now, according to a Friday CUPD information release, “Pandit was identified as one of several people refusing to comply with lawful orders of the police to remain outside of the Statler Hotel and physically forcing their way past officers.” CUPD added that “all defendants charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”
According to a press release issued by the Coalition for Mutual Liberation on Friday, Pandit was in her dorm room wearing a sleep shirt and shorts at 9 a.m. on Jan. 28 when a male CUPD officer knocked on her door to question her. In the press release, Pandit shared her discomfort, explaining how she was not given the opportunity to change in private before meeting with the officer.
Pandit also stated, "As a woman on this campus, I think the fact that students protesting against weapons manufacturers get the same punishment as rapists is disturbing and unacceptable."
In November, several students from Chi Phi were temporarily suspended following an individual’s report of being sexually assaulted by multiple men and coerced to partake in ketamine and other drugs. On Thursday, Interim President Michael Kotlikoff and Provost Kavita Bala announced a new task force dedicated to addressing and preventing sexual assault on campus.
Pandit was identified and arrested four months after CUPD’s initial arrest of three protesters.
When asked by The Sun why Pandit was not included in the original series of arrests, a University spokesperson declined to share any additional information beyond Friday’s CUPD information release. The spokesperson further declined to comment on whether the investigation into the Statler Hall protest remained ongoing.
In court filings specific to the case against Parasurama, a Nov. 15 voluntary statement by CUPD Investigator Raymond Schweiger states that he was “assigned to attempt to identify five subjects involved in using physical force against three uniformed Cornell University Police Officers.” In the statement, he said that he was able to identify three subjects: Deviren, Stith and Parasurama.
Schweiger wrote on Sept. 26 that he “was contacted by a group of students wishing to remain anonymous who wished to assist in identifying subjects involved in the disruption of the career fair.” Schweiger noted that these students provided him with four names allegedly involved in physical force against CUPD — one of which, he added, was Parasurama. He did not note in the statement who the other three students were.
Pandit was charged by CUPD with one count of obstructing governmental administration, a Class A misdemeanor and unlawful assembly, a Class B misdemeanor. The maximum penalty of a Class A misdemeanor is one year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine. Pandit is set to appear in Ithaca City Court at 9 a.m. on Feb. 12.
