Update: Cornell University VP of University Relations Joel Malina said in a statement Saturday afternoon that more students in the encampment will be temporarily suspended from the university. As of Sunday evening, the encampment remains largely undisturbed.
Faculty and staff who have participated will also begin receiving referrals to the school’s human resources department, Malina said. Several Cornell professors held educational sessions in the encampment, organized by the Coalition for Mutual Liberation on Cornell’s campus, throughout Friday and Saturday.
“We have issued immediate temporary suspensions for several student participants in the encampment, and are preparing to issue additional suspensions,” Malina said. “We have similarly suspended the student group [Climate Justice Cornell] that submitted an application for an event under false pretenses, stating that it would not include tents and would end at 8 p.m. [Thursday].”
The students who have been and will be suspended, Malina said, will not lose access to housing, dining services or campus health care. Malina’s statement did not address the ramifications on international students in the country through study visas who are suspended, which has been a topic of concern among the organizers.
Malina said the protest violates the school’s restrictions on peaceful protests which do not “respect the rights of others to teach, learn, and work without undue disturbance” and that protests must also comply with individual and collective responsibilities to avoid unlawful discrimination and harassment.”
Malina argued that the group’s decision to stay on the Arts Quad instead of relocating to the area near Day Hall and Sage Chapel means they will disrupt classroom learning for other students. He also took issue with one specific phrase students have chanted, “There is only one solution, Intifada revolution,” saying that it “belie[s] the claim” that the protests are “political and not antisemitic.”
The Coalition for Mutual Liberation (CML) issued a statement in response to Malina’s letter Saturday afternoon, saying that the administration was attempting to “erase protesters’ diverse identities, and our unity against genocide.”
CML also noted the student body vote that called for Cornell to divest from 10 companies the group says is equipping the Israeli military during the ongoing war in Gaza.
“The administration ignored this call and suspended students for exercising their right to protest and express themselves,” according to CML’s statement. “It’s especially shameful in a year where Cornell University has chosen the theme of Free Expression.”
Original story (April 26):
ITHACA, N.Y. — Despite the objections of Cornell University officials, the encampment of protesters on the school’s Arts Quad, organized by the student group Coalition for Mutual Liberation (CML), has remained intact overnight and into a second day.
The protest, similar to others happening around the country on college campuses, is calling for Cornell to divest in its Israeli holdings, call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, increase academic programming around Palestine, guarantee amnesty for students and faculty participating in the “Liberation Zone,” as they have termed the encampment, replace the campus’ police presence with a new unit of healthcare workers and first responders, protection of anti-Zionist speech and more.
The demands, which serve as the guiding document for the protest, can be read in full at the bottom of this article.
However, around 6 p.m., CML issued a press release stating four students involved with the protest had been “temporarily suspended” by the university. The group did not identify the identities of the students that had been suspended or what ramifications that punishment have on their presence in the encampment.
CML’s statement said that “the four Cornell students, including grad workers, received an email notice of temporary suspension for supposedly violating the student code of contact.”
“If our action were not meaningful in the fight for divestment — if our encampment were not a genuine threat to the legitimacy of this institution — Cornell would not have cracked down on students so severely within 24 hours without ever engaging with our demands,” the statement reads.
The group did not disclose how long the temporary suspensions are expected to last, and CML members said an end-date had not been set.
Cornell spokesperson Rebecca Valli confirmed that suspensions were given to students, but declined to give further details at the time, including names of the suspended individuals or the specific reason for the suspensions.
Dishing out suspensions mark the first official follow-through from the school’s statement Thursday afternoon that students, professors and staff who participate in the encampment would be subject to punishment if they remained past 1 p.m. Thursday, instead of moving to a space the administration said they had “pre-approved” for the action, between Day Hall and Sage Chapel on Cornell’s campus.
As of 6 p.m. Friday, the campsite still stands on the Arts Quad, about three times larger than it originally was. Organizers established a small library and a food station where those passing by can get free food.
While quiet compared to Thursday’s raucous gathering, the encampment was bustling on its second day.
There have been no rallies, but protesters have held a series of educational sessions on Palestinian history, colonialism and non-violent protesting led by Cornell professors. Dozens of other students sat outside the encampment too, enjoying the sunny weather.
There is a Shabbat celebration planned for Friday evening in the encampment, organized by Jewish Voices for Peace.
Malak Abuhashim, a Palestinian Cornell student, said the encampment is inspiring, both to her as a student and to her family back in Palestine.
“I’ve been Palestinian my whole life, and things have happened all the time, and a lot of the time I’ve always felt alone when trying to speak out for my people and give them a voice, and get people to acknowledge what was happening,” Abuhashim said. “For a long time in my life, it felt like I was just speaking out into [emptiness]. Finally, I feel like I have a community that will support me, they’ll risk their education for me. […] It’s very beautiful to me.”
Abuhashim said her family has seen pictures of the campus protests occurring nationwide, which have been a source of hope for them.
“They are seeing photos of what’s happening at Columbia, what’s happening at Cornell, and they are thanking us,” Abuhashim said. “They are very proud of what we are doing.”
Demonstrators inside the encampment said there have been no interruptions by law enforcement. Rather, organizers have received several donations of food and warm clothing for sleeping at night. Temperatures in Ithaca dipped well below freezing Thursday night.
Interactions with administration members have been minimal throughout Friday, protesters said.
Yihun Stith, a protester and Cornell student who said he had been out at the camp since 9 a.m., said the group was preparing a letter to send to the school’s leadership in an attempt to start a negotiation.
“Give us a date and time,” Stith said the letter would state.
It is unclear if there are any changes planned for the encampment as the weekend begins. Administrators at Cornell initially said that since other events are planned, including a Relay for Life and a celebration of the Hindu holiday, the students should leave by then. But protesters said they have spoken to organizers of the other events, and they have not objected to their presence.
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