Cornell University Police Department identified a student suspect for the Jan. 21 vandalism of the Andrew Dickson White statue on the Arts Quad, according to a University statement released on Monday by Monica Yant Kinney, interim vice president for University relations. CUPD “continues to investigate additional suspects,” according to the statement.
According to the statement from Kinney, the identified student was referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards which will adjudicate alleged violations of the Student Code of Conduct. If found responsible, the student may face “temporary restrictions.”
On the first day of spring classes, students awoke to “Divest from death” and “occupation=death” spray painted in dark red on the statue of A.D. White. This followed a similar first day of class vandalism at Day Hall during the fall semester, which included pro-divestment graffiti sprayed across the front entrance and the glass of the front door being smashed.
The activists behind the graffiti previously sent The Sun a statement regarding the A.D. White statue vandalism that asserted, “We had to accept that the only way to make ourselves heard is by targeting the only thing the university administration truly cares about: property.”
The Student Code of Conduct states that “certain types of violations are so fundamentally inconsistent with the University’s educational mission that, absent unusual mitigating factors, a sanction of substantial suspension or dismissal ordinarily will ordinarily be imposed.”
“Such violations include acts of violence or other violations that substantially threaten the University’s educational mission or property,” the Student Code of Conduct reads.
Following the vandalism of the A.D. White statue, the Coalition for Mutual Liberation — a pro-Palestinian coalition of over 40 on and off-campus organizations — expressed support for the act in an Instagram post, writing, “You can cover a statue with a tarp but you can’t cover up your complicity.”
CML declined to comment regarding the identification of a potential suspect in the A.D. White statue vandalism.
When asked by The Sun how the student was identified, a University spokesperson declined to share any additional information beyond Monday’s statement. The spokesperson further declined to comment on if the student would be charged criminally.
At time of publication, an activist behind the graffiti did not yet respond to a request for comment.
Ximena Balli '28 is a Sun contributor and can be reached at xsb2@cornell.edu.
Benjamin Leynse ’27 contributed reporting.
Correction, February 12, 1:23 p.m.: A previous version of this article incorrectly cited a CUPD statementinstead of a University statement. The University spokesperson actually declined to shared any additional information beyond Monday's University statement.
