Campus Report From Cornell Parents
Cornell University has descended into chaos after years of misguided leadership under the administration of President Martha Pollack. The Pollack regime has made “Discrimination, Exclusion, and Injustice” the DEI playbook at Cornell. The university has been transformed into a “political propaganda machine” which has lost its way -- by abandoning the values of educational excellence, academic freedom, and pursuit of knowledge. The university is hiring faculty based on conformance to political dogma rather than exemplary scholarship. Cornell is admitting students based on identity quotas rather than on academic merit. Curricula prioritize the conveyance of woke ideology and grievance culture rather than the discovery and transmission of truth, knowledge, and the skills needed for critical thinking. Antagonism and mistrust among different identity groups is at an all time high at Cornell. As a result, antisemitism now runs rampant on campus with Jewish students now being targeted as White, European, Settler, Colonialists under the DEI paradigm of Oppressor vs Oppressed. This is what the current administration’s DEI blitzkrieg has wrought at our beloved Alma Mater. The Cornell administration has released a hateful “grievance culture genie” from the bottle of malaise and dysfunction. Thus, the Cornell administration is now besieged from all sides – and has no idea how to get the ugly genie it has let loose back into the bottle. It is a heartbreaking spectacle to watch – which is transforming Cornell into a ragged and disgraced vestige of the great university it once was. Time is running out to stop Cornell's accelerating decline. Read the below Cornell Campus Report. Join CFSA to help right the course of Cornell before it is too late.
CAMPUS REPORT:
Parents of Students Aghast
at Cornell’s Antisemitism
CFSA has recently received the below two “open letters” from a parent of a Jewish student at Cornell to
Cornell Leadership, the US Congressional Committees now investigating Cornell, and the Cornell Community at large.
Please read…
LETTER TO CORNELL COMMUNITY
March 17, 2024
Dear Cornell Community :
Since the morning of October 7th, 2023, parents, alumni and current students at Cornell University have seen increasing antisemitism and persistent anti-Israel protests on campus to the point that it is now daily. It started with flyers and graffiti across campus and has devolved to the point that students and professors are protesting almost daily inside buildings with amplified sound, blocking entryways and exits, throwing flyers into classrooms while class is in session. Professors are not only participating in these protests, but often leading them and helping to organize the students. Numerous petitions have circulated where professors have stated that unless they are allowed to continue to protest on campus inside buildings with the goal of “disruption”, their free speech is being violated. There have been Palestinian flags hung inside Day Hall and outside Willard Straight. By report of students including my own, classes of varied curriculum have all had discussions over the current war against Hamas from a biased viewpoint against Israel even when the curriculum should not be related to this topic at all. Professor Russell Rickford who was on video stating he was exhilarated by 10/7 is back on campus and participating in these protests.
This past week, the protests escalated and my student was one of a number of students trapped inside the Statler library with protesters blocking the exits. There are photos and video of CUPD standing behind the protesters, but not clearing the exits and the protesters were again allowed to walk through numerous buildings and disrupt classes. Not one parent I have been in contact with has received a response from the administration regarding this.
We have formed numerous parent and alumni groups and are met continuously with silence by the administration. I have personally emailed or called President Pollack’s office close to 20 times and have not received one response. I received minimal responses from Dr. Ryan Lombardi which consistently state the same information as the university statements that the protests have been “very brief” and “peaceful”. Not one Jewish student on campus would agree with that and there are videos that show that neither is true. I have continually responded to these emails that the length of time does not matter when you are a Jewish student on campus and feel intimidated, but the protests are also disrupting studies and classes for all students. To try to explain better to the Cornell administration why brief and peaceful protests are still a problem, I sent a copy of Dara Horn’s article from The Atlantic “Why The Most Educated People In America Fall For Anti-Semitic Lies” from 2/15/2024 because she described it perfectly. I highlighted the section where she compares these protests and being Jewish on campus to being a woman in an office where male colleagues and bosses gather regularly to discuss their favorite strip clubs. She describes how a woman may start avoiding uncomfortable spaces where these discussions are going on and end up not getting promoted. The company would be held responsible for the hostile environment that discriminated against the woman. Tenured professors at Cornell University are creating an environment that is hostile towards Jewish students and gives permission and actually encourages other students to participate. The silence from the administration allows this to continue to have a snowball effect. Aside from the daily commotions on campus, Jewish students do not want to take classes from Professors who are publicly displaying their antisemitism.
I have students at another university and have sent examples of communication from that President to Cornell as an example of a university doing things correctly. Other universities have banned protests inside buildings and enforced these guidelines. Cornell stated an interim policy for this, but has not prevented indoor protests even though these protests are advertised for days in advance on social media.
After over 30 years of interviewing applicants for Cornell as part of CAAAN, I removed myself this year because of the rampant antisemitism which is allowed to continue and increase on campus and because of the complete lack of regard for concerns by parents. I have told other families with current year applicants about my experience of numerous emails going unanswered by the university.
Signed,
Parent Of Jewish Student at Cornell
Cornell Alumnus ‘93
LETTER TO CORNELL LEADERSHIP & CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES
March 14, 2024
Dear Cornell Leadership & Congressional Committee Members:
I am writing again regarding the horrific, repeated, dangerous, divisive, anti-Israel and anti-jewish activities that are continuous at Cornell University and intensifying daily. Today professors, including Russell Rickford and students, marched all through campus yelling, blasting music, bullhorns, chanting “intifada” and “from the river to the sea”. They entered libraries, classrooms, public spaces, mostly wearing masks to hide their identities and refusing to show police their IDs.
My daughter was one of the students who was blocked from moving safely about campus and their goal is to intimidate jewish students. I received texts and calls from my daughter that she was blocked from leaving the Statler library, unable to go to her next class and scared. I called campus police TWICE and was transferred to the voicemail of a secretary during the active event.
Cornell administration continues to do NOTHING to reign in this nonsense and the repeated unacceptable response is that these protests are brief and peaceful. They are neither, especially to jewish students on campus. The interim protest policy is not being enforced in any way and as I stated before, Russell Rickford who yelled with a megaphone about being exhilarated by the killings on 10/7 was photographed and video recorded smiling with the protestors today. I have copies of these if anyone would like more information. This is completely unacceptable.
I am also a Cornell alum and am completely disgusted at this point with what has been allowed to continue on campus. I have emailed the Office of the President close to 20 times with only one response by an assistant months ago and nothing has changed. I emailed and called multiple administrators at Cornell again today and no response.
My daughter is being subjected daily to these protests and intimidation. Is Cornell waiting for violence? When will action be taken to shut this down so students can feel safe on campus and attend to their studies. These events are in violation of Title VI.
Sincerely,
Parent Of Jewish Student at Cornell
Cornell Alumnus ‘93
Sign Petitions To End
Antisemitism At Cornell
TWO URGENT LINKS FROM CORNELL PARENTS:
Sign this open letter regarding a recent assistant professor hire that is a virulent Jew-hater!
And also send this strong letter to admin and leadership urging them to DO BETTER!
Click, sign and send. And share!
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