The Student Assembly sent an email to the student body on Monday announcing a referendum to gauge student opinion on Cornell’s judicial system and the University’s 2021 decision to replace a campus-wide code of conduct with the Student Code of Conduct.
Students can publicly submit statements encouraging others to vote yes or no to the referendum’s questions through Dec. 7. A promotional period for the referendum will last three days before voting opens for all undergraduate students on Dec. 11. The voting period will last 36 hours.
A referendum polls the student body on two "yes-or-no" questions via email. The Assembly can hold referendums to “determine community opinion regarding matters of student concern” twice a year if at least three percent of the registered undergraduate student body calls for it, according to the Assembly’s charter. If a majority of participants vote in favor of the submitter(s), then the Student Assembly will communicate the results to the Office of the President, who has 30 days to respond accordingly.
“A referendum is a way students can express their opinions and concerns on a specific issue directly to President [Michael] Kotlikoff,” wrote Christian Flournoy ’27, Student Assembly executive vice president, in the Monday email.
The Fall 2025 referendum, signed by around 540 students, asks the following two questions:
“1. Prior to 2021, conduct was overseen by the Judicial Administrator, an office independent of Cornell University’s central administration. It is now overseen by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (OSCCS). Should Cornell’s judicial system be independent of the University’s administration?
2. As a result of the 1969 Willard Straight Hall Takeover, the conduct of students, faculty, and staff was collectively governed under the Campus Code of Conduct. In 2021, the Student Code of Conduct replaced the Campus Code. Should Cornell University return to a community-wide Campus Code of Conduct?”
The Campus Code of Conduct — which applied to all members of Cornell’s community — was replaced with the Student Code of Conduct in 2021. The replacement also controversially switched the authority and administration of the Code from the shared governance body, the University Assembly, to Ryan Lombardi, vice president of student and campus life.
The call for a referendum comes after a formal review of the Student Code of Conduct was initiated in August by Lombardi, which sparked dissent on campus regarding University judicial processes and the revision process itself.
Since the announcement of the Code of Conduct revision process, campus groups, students and shared governance bodies have voiced concerns and questions regarding Cornell’s disciplinary process. The review process of the Student Code of Conduct itself faced criticism on numerous points, including that members of the Codes and Procedures Revision Committee were appointed, not elected, and that there was little involvement from other shared governance bodies
The University Assembly, which was previously responsible for reviewing the Code, questioned their minimal representation on this committee and alleged a “lack of transparency” in the ongoing revision process at its Aug. 26 meeting.
On Oct. 9, the Assembly passed Resolution 10: “Addressing the Administration’s Undemocratic Review of the Student Code of Conduct and Affirming Cornell’s System of Shared Governance” in a 21-1-2 vote. The resolution “condemns the exclusion of the elected Assemblies in [the University’s] revision of the Student Code of Conduct” and calls for the Code to be revised by elected members.
Now, the referendum seeks to illuminate the opinion of the larger undergraduate body. After votes are collected, the Assembly will communicate the results to the Office of the President, who has 30 days to respond accordingly.
The last time the Assembly introduced a referendum was in Spring 2024. The referendum polled student opinion on divestment from weapons manufacturers involved in the Israel-Gaza conflict, and whether Cornell should call for a ceasefire. Nearly 70 percent of voters responded in favor of both questions, with just under 50 percent of the Cornell undergraduate student body voting.
Ultimately, former President Martha Pollack rejected the Spring 2024 referendum, stating that it was not the place for a university to “make a statement about this complex political issue,” especially with a diversity of opinion among the student community.
Kate Turk is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is an assistant news editor for the 143rd Editorial Board. She can be reached at kturk@cornellsun.com.
