Protesters at Cornell University demanding divestment from Israel occupied the Mann Library on Thursday to read out the names of Palestinians killed in the four-month Israel-Hamas war.
According to cornel Daily Sun, About 100 “Walk Out To a Die In” activists from the Mutual Liberation Coalition also chanted, “Cornell is complicit in genocide.”
This protest was a direct response to the student council's rejection of Israel's divestment resolution on February 5.
Ultimately, campus police ‘removed and collected students’ ID cards’ and requested ‘reports.’ [them] “For disciplinary action.”
After police arrived, many protesters left the library and occupied “other libraries and academic buildings.”
The activists violated Cornell's two-week “Temporary Expressive Activities Policy,” which states that protests “must not disrupt classrooms, libraries, auditoriums, laboratories, residential facilities, administrative offices and special event venues.”
Joel Malina, Cornell's vice president for university relations, said protests “must adhere to our time, place and manner guidelines to ensure the ability of our faculty and students to teach and learn without disruption.”
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Cornell said the pro-Palestinian student protesters violated university policy today and have been “referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards for disciplinary action.”
They occupied libraries and other spaces. Police were asked to intervene.
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) February 8, 2024
Police intervene in the library. pic.twitter.com/MpZq1QpmIG
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) February 8, 2024
And it occupies another space on campus: pic.twitter.com/qctPkMm6Ir
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) February 8, 2024
Protester Nick Wilson people's organization He said the new activity policy was “completely absurd and draconian”. He particularly lamented the ban on candles, which “are used by people to mourn the loss of civilian life.”
According to the report, a person at the library objected to the protest and a “physical altercation” ensued.
[Student Aaron-Onuigbo] Kingsley claimed the man was “screaming at us, saying we are the ones who killed Palestinians, that Hamas hates gays and lesbians, that it was our fault, that we were wasting our parents’ money.”
Kingsley said despite the man's words, the protesters came together.
“It was really cool. We came together and made sure our songs were louder than his words,” Kingsley said.
POC's Wilson argued that the melee “might have garnered more public sympathy” if the activists had not been pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel. “Not only in the universities themselves, but also in the domestic media.”
One of the speakers before entering the library: pic.twitter.com/23gBJ5t7sx
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) February 8, 2024
During the protest, one student in the library complained about how noisy the activists were, and one student with a megaphone shouted, “If you think it's distracting you from studying for just 15 minutes, you have a bigger problem.” pointed out.
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Image: Socialist Liberation Party/X
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