On Wednesday, Sept. 18, the Coalition for Mutual Liberation (CML) marched from Day Hall to Statler Hall and disrupted the ILR School’s Human Capital and HR Career Fair being held in the Statler Ballroom that included Boeing and L3Harris. At least one faculty member filed a complaint against the protesters with the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards for violating the Student Code.
Later on Wednesday afternoon, VP Joel Malina issued a statement condemning the disruption:
“This afternoon, members of the Coalition for Mutual Liberation disrupted a Career Fair in the Statler Hotel. Cornell Police officers were pushed and shoved. Guests of the university felt threatened. And students were denied their ability to experience the Career Fair. This behavior is unacceptable, a violation of university policy, and illegal.
“Cornell Police are working to identify those who violated our policies, and students will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards for immediate action including suspension. Faculty and staff will be referred to Human Resources. These individuals will also be subject to potential criminal charges.
“Community members are encouraged to share with Cornell Police any information they may have around this afternoon’s events, including the identities of those who engaged in this shameful behavior.”
On Monday, Sept. 23, the President and Provost issued a statement calling for the suspension of the students or staff who disrupted the ILR Career Fair. That day, Momodou Taal, a graduate student in Africana Studies, was suspended. According to the CML, Taal, who is an international student from the United Kingdom, faces deportation because he is no longer eligible for an F-1 student visa.
CML took responsibility for the disruption but then attempted to rationalize its violation with an Instagram posting and a Sun op-ed by student activist Nick Wilson ‘26. Their arguments have a number of fallacies and will not persuade most Cornellians.
Cornell CML Instagram posting
Fallacy #1: President Kotlikoff is serious about enforcing the rules in order to show “thirst for revenge to Cornell’s wealthy donors.”
CML offers no data that Cornell’s “wealthy donors” have taken any position on this. Rather, in 1969, the New York Legislature passed the Henderson Law which required all private and public colleges in the state to adopt rules for the maintenance of public order. The Student Code, which specifically protects “employment interviews, and recruiting activities”, is a part of this. Cornell has a legal duty to enforce its codes. Fair enforcement of clear rules is not “revenge.”
New York has also adopted policies such as Executive Order No. 157, which prohibit engaging in anti-Israel Boycott, Divest, Sanction actions. In general, well-accepted U.S. policy supports Israel over Hamas, and the only way to change that is to convince Americans one at a time to change their minds.
Fallacy #2: Last Spring’s student referendum on divestment implicitly created a ban on recruitment by companies allegedly doing business with Israel
CML contends, “The Administration continues to ignore the 70% of students who have voted to divest from arms manufacturers like Boeing and 3LHarris.” CML is wrong that any student referendum is a binding determination of Cornell policy. It merely obligates the President to respond within 30 days. President Pollack responded to the vote on May 30 and rejected the divestment proposal.
The student referendum served a valuable function by starting conversations between students that discussed the merits of the issue. After an energetic campaign, only 7,153 undergraduates (43%) voted. Of these, only 4,960 voted for divestment. That group could not pretend to make policy for all 26,300 students, including graduate and professional students. Indeed, the referendum was undertaken with the understanding that it is an expression of undergraduate opinion rather than a binding policy determination. Although the turnout was low, it was significantly higher than recent Student Assembly elections.
The referendum focused upon divestiture from 10 companies and not a recruiting ban. For decades, the Cornell community has concluded that each student should be free to reach a personal ethical decision about prospective employers. Society and Boeing workers are better off if the Boeing HR Department is staffed with intelligent and well-trained Cornell graduates. The CML must accept the reality that most Cornell students have career aspirations that surpass any concern over Gaza.
Fallacy #3: Small groups have the right to coerce action on the Gaza crisis instead of that being the exclusive power of the national government.
The Federal Government has the power to impose trade embargos, suspensions of arms shipments to either the Palestinian Authority, Israel or both. All of that is decided in Washington DC using far better information than is available in Ithaca. Neither Cornell nor the CML has the right to force anyone to boycott on this issue. Cornell’s proper role is to encourage thoughtful debate and academic inquiry on the Mideast, while respecting the wide variety of views held on the subject. While Nick Wilson argues by invoking images of “infant children in plastic bags”, most Cornellians have been trained to reject such appeals to emotion.
Most Cornell students have thought through their educational and career objectives and are not willing to sacrifice it all to make an ineffective political gesture. Nick Wilson pleaded passionately on behalf of Starbucks workers his first year and then on behalf of Palestinians after Oct. 7. He is willing to jump to the front to lead any cause of the day. Cornellians have more important work to focus upon.
CML’s tactics are intended to use peer pressure to nudge uninvolved Cornellians into supporting its goals. CML believes that if a 100 demonstrators make enough noise while they chant, uninvolved students will believe that everyone agrees with CML and they should give into the CML fake consensus. However, it is clear that many thoughtful people from President Biden on down support Israel and disagree with the CML. CML has been ineffective since Oct. 7, and it should reconsider its goals and methods. CML’s actions to coerce students to stop interviewing with Boeing and L3Harris at Cornell job fairs violates the rights of students who want to be employed by those companies.
Fallacy #4: If Cornell is serious about enforcing its long-standing rules, it will create a backlash adding support to the CML.
CML and Wilson acknowledge that there are rules against disrupting recruiters but claim a higher moral purpose in their quest to end the Gaza war. They view their harassment of Boeing and L3Harris recruiters as an act of civil disobedience.
Civil disobedience is a concept where a person’s moral objections to a feature of society is so great that he is willing to accept the full consequences of his disobedience. When a cause is compellingly just and the penalties for the person are great, civil disobedience can move the needle of public opinion. For example, Birmingham AL jailed Martin Luther King, and India jailed Mahatma Gandhi.
Here CML and its leaders are not willing to accept the punishment for their disobedience. They wear masks while protesting. They refused CU Police requests to identify themselves. Wilson cutely added to his Sun column, “The column does not intend to facilitate, engage in, participate or assist in any violations of University policy.” His disclaimer does not negate the substance of his message that he is trying to “to participate, aid or assist another person to commit a violation of the Code” (Student Code Section 4.6)
CML claims that any attempt to enforce the rules “would likely only fuel the further growth of CML and its member organizations.” That is a risk that Cornell must take. Yet, CML behaviors in evading the just consequences of their actions undercut any moral standing of their claims. In contrast, Cornell has been respectful and professional.
Nationally, the pro-Palestinian tactics have included blocking traffic on major highways, causing great resentment to their cause. In fact, one motorist blocked as he attempted to drive to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport on April 15 was so upset that he filed a class action lawsuit seeking monetary damages against the organizers of that blockade.
Cornell must protect the rights of all of its students, including those who do not agree with CML. That includes students’ right to interview for jobs with L3Harris, Boeing or any other company. Cornell’s resolve will be put to the test on Sept. 24-25 with a university-wide job fair in Barton Hall.
