President Pollack addressing alumni in a reunion tent
Two recent events – President’s Pollack’s response to University Assembly (UA) Resolution 7 and the registration process for the June 2023 Reunion – show that Cornell has a long way to go in protecting the free expression rights of a critical subset of our community: our alumni.
The offending policy is entitled “Cornell Code of Conduct for On-campus Alumni Events.” It has a sweeping scope:
Unacceptable behaviors include intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory, or demeaning conduct by any attendees at Cornell related events.
Harassment may include: offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, race, age, religion, disability; inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images in public spaces (including presentation slides), inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.
Although the title says “On-campus,” it applies ”at all campus venues and Cornell-related events.” So, it applies wherever Cornell holds events.
UA Resolution 7 correctly reflected this policy:
…any kind of communication that attacks or discriminates against a person or a group based on who they are, such as their race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability status, socioeconomic status, or national origin, always violates our values and Cornell’s Code of Conduct, and should be condemned wherever and whenever it occurs.
Mysteriously, President Pollack responded, “There is no ‘Cornell Code of Conduct.’”
Background on How the Cornell Code of Conduct Came to Be
On Feb. 8, 2019, the Cornell Association of Class Officers held its annual banquet as a part of the Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference (CALC) in Boston. The Alumni Affairs staff had invited a group of minority students to attend at Cornell’s expense to learn about alumni leadership. The highlight of the evening was presenting the William “Bill” Vanneman ’31 Outstanding Class Leader Award to 88-year-old Paul Blanchard ‘52.
By tradition, each year the recipient gives an acceptance speech to reflect upon a lifetime of service to Cornell. Blanchard made a light-hearted comment about how when he was an undergraduate, male students “surveyed” women on the Arts Quad. He also told a joke by quoting Satchel Paige, who he identified as a “pitcher in the Negro League.”
As the banquet ended, the staff asked the students present to stay after for an unscheduled debriefing. A group of minority students complained to the staff about Blanchard’s comments. They felt it was unacceptable to identify “the Negro League” by its official name. At first, they demanded the award be rescinded, but after they heard the award was irrevocable, they began to discuss alternative actions with the staff until 3:00 a.m.
The start of the Saturday morning program was delayed for an hour while the staff and alumni leaders conferred. Instead of the announced program, the staff then led an open-mic struggle session where they read a written apology from Blanchard. Four alumni groups with a minority focus issued a joint statement expressing outrage, and speaker after speaker denounced the “institutional racism” of Cornell and its alumni groups.
Free expression or safetyism: are Cornellians becoming incapable of hearing uncomfortable ideas?
Michelle Vaeth ’98, head of alumni affairs who was present at the conference, said her office would create a task force of students, alumni, and staff in response to the incident to “develop productive new ways for Cornell’s different generations to work together with even more mutual respect and understanding.” The hand-picked task force drafted and approved the Cornell Code of Conduct.
The subsequent Sun news coverage quoted students as approving the quick action taken by the staff. This was followed by a Sun consensus editorial praising the staff. Laura DeMassa ‘21 and Canaan Delgado ‘21, two minority students who attended CALC, wrote a Sun op-ed calling for “disrupting the structural manifestations of discrimination” at alumni events.
They noted that 11 of the past 16 Vanneman winners were older white men. Aminah Taariq-Sidibe ‘21 wrote a Sun op-ed claiming that alumni “should be held to the same standard as students who are still on campus when it comes to cultural sensitivity.” At least one Sun op-ed defended Blanchard and alumni free speech. Because Vaeth ended the tradition of giving acceptance speeches, no subsequent incidents have occurred.
Not Writing on a Blank Slate
At the time, the Trustees had delegated to the UA (without any veto authority by the President), the authority over campus codes of conduct and the judicial system. Day Hall and the UA were in a stalemate because the UA refused to enact a controversial proposed speech code requested by the Black Students Union and other minority groups, and endorsed by the Student Assembly.
More on shared governance: Student Assembly (finally) settles leadership dispute.
Meanwhile, Cornell had in place the Campus Code of Conduct (not to be confused with the “Cornell Code of Conduct”) that included state-mandated “Rules for the Maintenance of Public Order” to address disruptions. These were required by the 1970 Henderson Law. Those rules govern “the conduct of students, faculty and other staff as well as visitors” and must not be construed to “limit or restrict the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly”.
Vaeth’s task force was redundantly enacting a confusingly similarly named code when there were already rules in place to cover any campus visitor. Her code did not show any regard for freedom of speech or peaceful assembly.
No Due Process for the Accused
Under the Cornell Code of Conduct, anyone who witnesses unacceptable conduct is encouraged to report it to the alumni affairs staff, who is empowered to eject the accused from the campus without any due process whatsoever. As an example, if some alumni are overheard having a polite discussion about the United Negro College Fund or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, they can be physically escorted to Collegetown without recourse.
In contrast, under the preexisting code, only the President or her designee had the power to ban anyone from campus. However, the accused can then get a fair hearing with due process to challenge the underlying facts. A subsequent 2021 Policy Statement on Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech and Expression requires notification and consultation with shared governance bodies when people are ejected from campus:
[A]ny intervention by the President or the President’s designee in campus rights of expression and assembly shall be reported promptly to the Cornell community, including the elected campus governance bodies, with an explanation of the bases for the actions taken and the plan for restoring, as expeditiously as possible, any rights of expression and assembly that may have been restricted.
How Can Cornell Legally Trample on Constitutionally-Protected Free Expression?
Cornell’s state-imposed obligation to maintain public order consistent with free speech and peaceful assembly makes enforcing the Cornell Code of Conduct difficult. So, Cornell is asking each alumni visitor to contractually agree to waive any Constitutional rights and comply.
The online 2023 Reunion registration form includes the question:
If you try to register without checking the box, you get this error message:
There may be legal arguments that such a contract is not enforceable, much as the liability waiver printed on the back of your ski-lift ticket is not enforceable, but going to all of this effort says a lot about Vaeth’s regard for free expression on Cornell’s campus.
Unlike Cornell’s Title IX regulations that are required by the federal government, or its Rules for the Maintenance of Public Order that are required by New York State law, the Cornell Code of Conduct is a rare limitation on free expression not required from outside of Cornell. Rather, it seems to be motivated by a “woke” desire to inhibit and control the ideas expressed by alumni when they gather.
In sum, let us use the 2023-24 free expression theme year to terminate the Cornell Code of Conduct. Also, it would be a great opportunity to restore the tradition of the Vanneman winners delivering their acceptance speeches.
