March 12, 2024 - American Public News

ITHACA, N.Y. — Nearly 200 Cornell faculty, staff and students held a rally in front of the university’s main administration building Tuesday afternoon in protest — and defiance — of a new interim policy governing demonstrations on the campus. It was one of the first such protests on the matter organized by faculty and staff rather than by students.The policy that prompted the demonstration is called the Interim Expressive Activity Policy. Cornell unveiled the policy in late January, amidst heightened protest activity over the ongoing war in Gaza and an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education into “potential civil rights violations” and alleged antisemitic and anti-Muslim discrimination.Tuesday’s protest was billed as an event in support of academic freedom of speech, though many of the speakers and signs at the event also referenced the ongoing war in Gaza.The policy, which was updated earlier this week after broad outcry from students and faculty, states that protests should be planned in a way that does not disrupt other campus activities. It also places restrictions on where and when certain protests can take place, bans the use of signs on sticks and flags on poles and restricts the use of devices like bullhorns and loudspeakers, among other things. The first demonstrator to arrive came bearing an armful of large posters, complete with wooden sticks. Another brought a bullhorn, plus several backups. The rally began just after the cutoff time for outdoor events. Protestors gathered close to, but not within the designated area for rallies.Some demonstrators referenced notable past protests and occupations of Cornell buildings that would have been restricted under the policy. Credit: Casey Martin/Ithaca VoiceThe event was peaceful and campus police were not present, though at least one university official was on hand as an observer.The university states the policy will be “administered in a content-neutral manner and without regard to the message or viewpoint being expressed.”Suman Seth, chair of the Science and Technology Studies department, said he felt the policy would disproportionately affect marginalized students — particularly those who have spoken out against Israel for its counterstrikes and ongoing invasion of Gaza.“I will not tell you that I know about the motives behind this policy — although I have my guesses,” Seth said. “But I can be concrete about the fact that [the policy] will kill speech. But just so we’re clear, it will not kill all speech. It will kill speech from those who […] are marginalized and threatened.”A university spokesperson declined to address Seth’s and others’ allegations.The Ithaca Voice spoke with four people — three graduate student workers and one undergraduate student — who had been sanctioned under the new policy. All four received notice of pending disciplinary hearings via email shortly after their participation in a “die-in” at the university’s Mann Library on Feb. 8, which called on Cornell to divest from its Israeli holdings and halt collaborations with Israeli institutions. Alaa Richard Farghli said university officials recorded his Cornell ID at both the Mann Library event and during another protest last week. Farghli said his disciplinary hearing is scheduled for March 15.“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Farghli said. “And part of the reason is because the interim policy does not clearly lay out what the consequences of the actions are. I argue that there shouldn’t be [any consequences] for any free expression.”Farghli, a graduate student worker, said there is plenty at stake for him going into Friday’s hearings.“I am the firstborn child of Egyptian immigrants. And they made a lot of sacrifices — a lot of people made a lot of sacrifices for me to get to this point. I’ve made a lot of sacrifices to get to this point,” Farghli said. “And I don’t know if the university wants to make an example of us. I’m not sure what their intentions are. […] But I’m more concerned about what will happen if we do not speak up against this genocide.”The Cornell Daily Sun reports that roughly 100 people took part in the Feb. 8 demonstration that prompted disciplinary hearings for Farghli and others. It is not yet clear how many of those participants will face sanctions.A spokesperson for Cornell’s chapter of the Coalition for Mutual Liberation, which has organized a number of protest actions criticizing Israel’s military actions in Gaza, said least eight people were slated for disciplinary hearings after attending its events, including the Feb. 8 die-in.A university spokesperson did not respond when asked how many people were currently slated for disciplinary hearings.It is not clear whether any of the campus demonstrations more sympathetic to Israel, such as events mourning Israeli casualties of Oct. 7 or installations calling for the release of Israeli hostages, have experienced similar sanctions — though there have been fewer of those.Cornellians For Israel, a group that has helped to organize some of the aforementioned events, did not respond to a request for comment before publication.Two men, one wearing a sweatshirt with “I stand with Israel” printed on the sleeve, stood across the street observing the protest outside Day Hall. Such observers have become somewhat commonplace at demonstrations or rallies critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza.“You can’t say that this is a protest for freedom of speech and the First Amendment and then have the entire protest chanting ‘Free Palestine,’” the man with the sweatshirt said, speaking to a protester who had approached the pair.The two men declined to speak with The Voice about their thoughts on the interim policy — only that they supported Israel’s right to defend itself. Tracy McNulty, a professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and one of the organizers of the event, said it was meaningful that faculty and staff were taking a stand against the policy, which she said represents an infringement on academic freedom.“This policy, which purports to be about keeping students safe on campus and preventing the disruption of our peace of mind — the ‘threats’ represented by signs and so on,” McNulty said. “It very obviously came in response to people protesting the war in Gaza.”McNulty said that while many of the individuals now facing sanctions appear to have been critical of Cornell’s involvement with Israel, the issue of academic freedom transcends viewpoints.“Well, I think the point about these kinds of restrictions [on speech] is one day they come for your opponents but the next day, they come for you,” McNulty said.The post Cornell employees protest new university policy on demonstrations appeared first on The Ithaca Voice.First published by The Ithaca Voice.

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Cornell employees protest new university policy on demonstrations

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