Reunion edition 2024 WELCOME BACK TO THE HILL! INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 140
16 Pages – Free
THURSDAY, JUNE 6 - SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2024 n ITHACA, NEW YORK
President Pollack to Retire After Seven Years of Leadership By JULIA SENZON and ANUSHKA SHOREWALA Sun Managing Editor and Sun Assistant News Editor
This story was originally published on May 9.
NINA DAVIS / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Academic arrested | Prof. Monica Cornejo, communication, was arrested during the Q&A portion of Ann Coulter’s ’84 lecture.
Prof. Arrested at Coulter Talk By DINA SHLUFMAN, MATTHEW KIVIAT and BENJAMIN LEYNSE Sun Assistant News Editor, Sun News Editor and Sun Staff Writer
This story was originally published on April 17. Ann Coulter ’84, a controversial conservative media personality, made her return to campus on Tuesday with a talk entitled “Immigration: The Conspiracy To End America.” Audiences largely did not disrupt Coulter. However, Prof. Monica Cornejo was arrested during the question and answer section due to disorderly behavior. At Coulter’s last speaking appearance at Cornell in November 2022, numerous attendees protested, resulting in the removal of eight audience members and an early end to the event. In March, The Sun broke news of Coulter’s invitation to campus, which was spearheaded by Provost Michael Kotlikoff as an effort to allow diverse perspectives on campus during the current freedom of expression theme year. At the start of the event, Kotlikoff expressed
it was important to allow Coulter to speak again — this time without interruption. “We’re here really to correct something that happened a year and a half ago when [Coulter] who was invited by Cornell students was prevented from speaking at Cornell, something that I did not attend,” Kotlikoff said. “I wish to remind all participants that Cornell values free and open inquiry and expression and strives to create a community where diverse opinions can be expressed.” Kotlikoff made it clear to attendees that Coulter had the right to speak without intimidation and that individuals who chose to interrupt the event would face consequences. “Actions that prevent a speaker’s ability to be heard or the right of others to listen and see are a violation of University policy [and violators will] be referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards or other appropriate officials, which may lead to a notation on the conduct record or transcript,” Kotlikoff said. See COULTER page 6
Former Sun Editor Keri Blakinger ’14 Named Pulitzer Prize Finalist By KATE SANDERS Sun News Editor
Former Sun staff writer and magazine editor Keri Blakinger ’14 was named a 2024 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in feature writing for her piece “When Wizards and Orcs Came to Death Row” — a portrait of men on death row in Texas. Since 2023, Blakinger has written for the Los Angeles Times, where she covers criminal justice and the Los Angeles Police. As someone who has served prison time in the past over a 2010 drug charge, Blakinger explained that her lived experience strengthens her incarceration coverage. “The fact that I had done time actually gave me additional knowledge when covering these topics, and I think it also made it feel more meaningful when I would write a story that would have some
kind of impact.” The piece, published by the Marshall Project, profiles two men — Billy Wardlow and Tony Ford — who built community with other men on death row through playing Dungeons and Dragons, a popular role-playing game, despite intense barriers. In an interview with The Sun, Blakinger explained some of the challenges of reporting on death row in Texas — where inmates face some of the harshest and most isolating restrictions in the country. Texas death row limits how often reporters can talk to inmates, Blakinger explained. “For a long time, the rules have been that you can only visit the same inmate once every ninety days, and it’s only for a one-hour interview,” Blakinger said. “So that meant that I could only interview the main subjects of the story for
one hour every three months.” Blakinger also described legal challenges with reporting on death row. Many death row inmates feared the impact being named in the story would have on their cases. And in the midst of Blakinger’s three years of reporting, one of her subjects — Wardlow — was executed. Blakinger’s story does not just focus on the harsh conditions inmates face on death row. She details the way they cope by crafting dice, passing messages cell-to-cell and drawing intricate maps. “Instead of simply describing how terrible it is to spend two decades in solitary, I could demonstrate the lengths that these guys have to go to to overcome living that way,” Blakinger said.
See PULITZER page 4
President Martha Pollack announced that she will retire from her position on June 30, in an email sent to the Cornell community on Thursday, May 9. Provost Michael Kotlikoff will serve as interim president for a two-year term beginning on July 1, 2024, according to a follow-up email sent by Kraig Kayser MBA ’84, chair of the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees will establish a committee to select the University’s 15th president six to nine months before Kotlikoff’s term ends. Pollack acknowledged that there “will be lots of speculation about [her] decision” and emphasized that she independently decided to retire from her role after “extensive reflection.” Pollack’s retirement follows a year of campus controversies spurred from the IsraelHamas war, including Prof. Russell Rickford, history, saying that he was “exhilarated” by Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Patrick Dai ’24 posting antisemitic threats. Throughout the year, the Coalition for Mutual Liberation — a pro-Palestine coalition of over 40 on and off-campus organizations — occupied Day Hall, held die-ins in libraries and other campus buildings and established an encampment on the Arts Quad. Demonstrators urged the University to divest from weapons manufacturers, advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza, acknowledge Islamophobia on campus and cease educational ties with Israeli institutions. See POLLACK page 5
Encampment
MING DEMERS / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
The child of a supporter plays with a toy truck over the encampment’s mural.