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The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 143, No. 20 News
The Sun
Sports
Online degree
Brand-new board
Charlotte contract
Cornell will launch an online Bachelor of Professional Studies degree program in August 2027. | Page 4
16 Pages – Free
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2026 n ITHACA, NEW YORK
The Sun held elections on Feb. 28 to decide members of the 144th Board. | Page 14
Andrew Johnson ’25 becomes the fourth former Cornell soccer player to join the MLS. | Page 16
Cornell Spared from Hegseth’s Cornell Community Expresses Concerns Scholarship Cuts to Top Colleges Over Flock Safety AI Cameras on Campus By ATTICUS JOHNSON Sun News Editor
March 1 — The list, released on Friday, lists cuts to the Senior Service College Fellowships specifically, and did not mention other partnerships between Cornell and the Pentagon. Senior Service College Fellowships provide funding for high-level military officials to study national security policy and strategy in an academic setting, according to The United States Army War College’s website. Potential “new partnerships” intended to replace previous partnerships with Ivy League and other elite universities announced by the Pentagon include conservative institutions such as Liberty University and Hillsdale College, as well as public universities like the University of North Carolina, Arizona State University and the University of Michigan. When reached for comment, a Pentagon spokesperson referred The Sun to its statement on Senior Service College Fellowships, which stated the policy change “will not impact any Service members or [DOD] civilians currently enrolled in the affected programs.” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the cancellation of military attendance at Ivy League and other elite
universities, starting in the 2026-2027 academic year, in a video released Friday afternoon on X, formerly Twitter. Hegseth said the change would affect “Princeton, Columbia, MIT, Brown, Yale, and many others.” Though Cornell was not explicitly mentioned, Cornell was on a preliminary list of institutions at risk of losing military tuition assistance eligibility, according to information originally reported by CNN earlier this month. Hegseth previously canceled all professional military education, certificate programs and fellowships with Harvard on Feb 6. In the Friday video, Hegseth said that he made the decision because the American military has “been poisoned from within by a class of so-called ‘elite universities,’ who have abused their privilege and access to this department and utterly betrayed their purpose.” “Cornell University has proudly educated active-duty military and veterans since its founding and is the only Ivy League institution designated a Purple Heart University for supporting veterans injured in combat,” a University spokesperson wrote to The Sun. See PENTAGON page 5
By JOSHUA COHEN Sun Contributor
March 3 — The Cornell University Police Department currently has a contract to operate seven different Flock Safety AI cameras on Cornell’s campus; these cameras have been operating on campus since October 2024, according to a University spokesperson. The Sun spoke to students who have raised concerns that Flock camera data collected on students and faculty could be leaked to immigration enforcement agencies. The cameras, which can be used to track license plate data for police investigations, according to Flock’s website, are all located at major entry points to central campus. Avery Morris ’28 and Ian Palansky ’28, co-leads of the criminal justice committee for Cornell’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter, highlighted Flock’s cameras as a risk to Tompkins County and Cornell students. “[The Flock cameras are] really a big threat at Cornell because we have a lot of people on visas, we have a lot of protesting and a lot of civil disobedience going on here,” Morris said. “We’ve also seen our presidential administration targeting our university, which nationally and federally, is where [Immigrations and Customs Enforcement] is looking for people.” An “ICE Out” protest took place on
campus in early February to condemn federal immigration agencies and urge the University to sever institutional ties with ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, amid Cornell’s advertisement of recruitment CBP through Cornell Career Services. The protest joined broad national demonstrations against mass ICE deportations and militarization. Flock wrote that it does not directly partner with ICE and that all of its data is owned by its customers, according to its website. “ICE does not have direct access to Flock cameras, systems, or data, unless the agencies that control their data expressly and deliberately allow it,” Flock’s website reads. However, investigations from 404 Media have found that ICE has been working with local law enforcement agencies to access their Flock databases upon request. In a statement to The Sun, a University Spokesperson stated that CUPD owns all the data in Flock’s database and can be accessed for up to 30 days before being automatically deleted. Palansky expressed doubt that the data would not be used by Flock cameras to target students and faculty. Because the University is “politically targeted,” Palansky said, “it seems almost naive” to assume that the administration will never use Flock cameras. See FLOCK page 10
Cornell Spends Record $1 Million in Federal Lobbying
The University spent the highest-ever amount on lobbying in 2025, ranking third among Ivy League universities. By ANANT SRINIVASAN Sun Senior Writer
March 1 — Cornell reported $180,000 in federal lobbying expenditures for the fourth quarter of 2025, according to its latest filing with the U.S. Senate, bringing its year-to-date total to $1,094,000. The fourth-quarter filing caps off the University’s most expensive lobbying year yet, a 66% increase from the previous record high of $660,000 in 2024. Throughout 2025, Cornell reported spending of $230,000 in the first quarter, $444,000 in the second quarter and $240,000 in the third quarter. Cornell’s newest report shows extensive lobbying for land-grant agriculture programs and competitive research grants at the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy. The University has also continued its support for NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Institute of Standards and Technology programs. The University’s fourth-quarter report also highlights, for the first time, investment in technologies “including artificial intelligence, quantum computing and robotics,” reflecting growing federal interest in frontier research. In addition to advocating for new funding, the filing indicates the University’s interest in protecting existing funding. Cornell lobbied lawmakers regarding “cancelled and/or frozen programs and grants” for the University as well as continued spending of already appropriated funds, according to the filing.
In a statement to The Sun, a University spokesperson wrote that administrators “expanded engagement with policymakers and federal agencies to restore research funding and prevent regulatory changes that would harm [Cornell’s] educational programs.”
The University also lobbied on policies affecting international students. The filing shows that Cornell raised concerns about proposed restrictions on student visas and employment pathways such as Optional Practical Training, which allows international
graduates to temporarily work in the U.S. for up to a year after completing their degrees. The filing mentions support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and “legal status and protections for undocumented students in the Dream and Promise Act” while pushing for high skill immigration reform. The filings come amid increased visa scrutiny and enforcement under President Donald Trump’s administration which has raised uncertainty for international students at Cornell and across the country. According to the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development Survey, federal funding supported more than $64 billion in research spending in 2024 across all universities, making up about 55% of total academic research spending. The filing data shows increased federal engagement across higher education as universities navigate an unusually volatile policy environment. The University of Pennsylvania, Yale University and Columbia University all joined Cornell in crossing the seven-figure threshold. Penn led the Ivy League with a total of $1.32 million, including a mammoth $510,000 expenditure in quarter four. “Cornell increased its federal lobbying expenditure in response to unprecedented pressure on higher education from the federal government,” the University spokesperson wrote in an email statement to The Sun. Anant Srinivasan can be reached at asrinivasan@cornellsun.com.