INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 140, No. 55
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THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2024 n ITHACA, NEW YORK
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Eirian Huang '26 notes the terrific turnout at "Boticell's Banquent." Nutrition students transported Keeton to the Italian Renaissance.
Women's hockey advanced to the ECAC semifinals after a sweep of Quinnipiac, capped off by a dominant 5-0 win on Saturday.
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Local advocates are pushing for legislation that will prohibit firing workers and evicting tenants without good cause.
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Two More Encampment Protesters Suspended By GABRIEL MUÑOZ Sun City Editor
The University suspended two more student protesters today, following previous threats that additional suspensions were imminent after four protesters were temporarily suspended on April 26. On May 1 at 5:50 p.m., the Coalition for Mutual Liberation announced the suspensions of two additional students who were partaking in the encampment protest on the Arts Quad. The statement said that the temporary suspensions targeted “anti-genocide students and graduate workers” for their involvement in the protests, particularly students perceived to be in “positions of leadership.” The two students who were suspended May 1 are not part of the CML negotiations team. Suspended students received emails informing them about their suspension at 3 p.m. The University has charged them with the same charges as the previously suspended students — unauthorized use of University property by engaging in or facilitating outdoor camping on the Arts Quad without approval, failure to comply with University directives to remove the unauthorized encampment, unreasonably loud chants and
behavior, failure to disperse from the Arts Quad and staying past 8 p.m. on April 25. Bianca Waked grad, one of the students who was initially suspended on April 26, said the University was targeting students who are engaging in the protest, which she considered an example of “civil disobedience.” “What the University is reducing to purposeless ‘rule-breaking’ must be properly understood as a core element of civil disobedience — deliberate and public rule-breaking for expressive purpose,” Waked said. “The Liberated Zone expresses deep discontent with Cornell University’s unequal treatment of their students — especially Palestinian, Arab, Muslim and anti-Zionist Jewish students — in addition to protesting Cornell’s material investment in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.” The suspensions follow previous statements from the administration promising suspensions after protesters stayed past the 8 p.m. deadline on April 25. To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com. Gabriel Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@cornellsun.com.
MING DEMERS / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Six suspensions | As of May 2, six encampment protestors have faced temporary suspension.
MING DEMERS / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Persistent protester | Nick Wilson '26 addresses the encampment via megaphone on April 25.
'I Will Not Be Intimidated': Protester Rejects Credit Offer By GABRIEL MUÑOZ Sun City Editor
On Tuesday, Nick Wilson ’26 rejected a deal from the University to receive academic credit for the Spring 2024 semester in exchange for discontinuing his involvement with the pro-Palestine encampment on the Arts Quad. Wilson was one of four students suspended on Friday for participating in the encampment, which meant he would lose all credit from this semester. According to a press release from the Coalition from Mutual Liberation, the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards offered a conditional deal on Tuesday, April 30. Under the conditional deal, Wilson would receive “incomplete” grades, providing him with the ability to receive credit for this semester by completing any pending assignments after the suspension is lifted. In exchange for the offer, Wilson would have to sign a written agreement stipulating he would not continue to express his support of students joining the encampment protest.
OSCCS Director Christina Liang summoned a meeting with Wilson under the premise of “discussing the terms of the suspension” in more detail. However, at the meeting, Liang extended the deal as a verbal offer. The other suspended students have not received similar offers. As graduate students, Bianca Waked grad and Momodou Taal grad must undergo different procedures in terms of negotiating their suspensions. Cornell Graduate Students United held a press conference on the Arts Squad at noon on Wednesday where leaders discussed initiating a bargaining process with the University regarding the suspended students. The CGSU-UE wrote that “suspensions constitute a change in their working conditions that the National Labor Relations Law mandates Cornell University is required to bargain with CGSU-UE” in a press release sent to The Sun. To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com. Gabriel Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@cornellsun.com.
Faculty Stand With Protesters, Denounce Suspensions
By GABRIEL MUÑOZ Sun City Editor
“I learned about the encampment when I came to teach my class on Thursday,” said Prof. Natalie Melas, comparative literature, about the encampment established on the Arts Quad on April 27. The protest has received backlash from the administration and has been met with divided responses from students. Across the country and at Cornell, many faculty members are now coming to the defense of students and standing in solidarity with the protesters. Since Thursday, faculty members have become involved with the protest, with some delivering speeches and canceling their lectures. Professors have also played a role in providing more active support for protestors, engaging in discussions with the administration, giving demonstrators supplies and participating in the encampment. Prof. Jess Newman, feminist, gender and sexuality studies, said she wanted to show support for those in the protest, some of whom are her own students. She said she is also dropping off sup-
plies, helping protesters read University policies and monitoring student interactions with police. But Newman emphasized that, to her, the pedagogical aspect of the protest, including teach-ins and office hours arranged by faculty, are the most valuable support they can offer students. “The students that are in the encampment as well as those running support in various ways are living up to the tradition of civil disobedience of using the knowledge that they gain on this campus for support for liberation and a more just future,” Newman said. Other members of faculty like Melas said the encampment promoted educational content for students, speaking about the teachins and the “people’s library,” comparing it to University resources. “In a way it feels to me like it is still the campus, it is just another form of learning that is happening,” Melas said. Prof. Eric Cheyfitz, American studies, who is Jewish and has relatives in Israel, told The Sun he supported the encampment protests. He said the administration “missed an opportunity” to showcase freedom of expression on campus by endorsing the protests. Cheyfitz, who has taught at Cornell for 20 years, said he has never seen a violent protest during his time teaching at the University.
NINA DAVIS / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Scholar's support | Prof. Eric Cheyfitz, American studies, announced his support for encampment protesters on April 26.
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com. Gabriel Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@cornellsun.com.