At the recent State of the University address, President Pollack commented that, “it is our responsibility to ensure that our students have the opportunity to engage with ideas that challenge them, because being exposed to ideas that one disagrees with is a core part of a university education.” As speech continues to be silenced on campus, the school has failed at this responsibility.
The tension on campus recently has been palpable, especially as professors have weighed in with their own commentary on the Israel-Palestine conflict. The results have been displayed on campus, with posters from both sides going up and then being torn down. In the year of free expression, one would expect the school to defend students’ rights to express their views, whether it be through putting up posters, flyers, or hiring ad trucks to go around campus. Instead, the school has turned a blind eye to blatant suppression of free speech, and in turn, failed its students.
Clearly documented examples include a group of protesters bullying an ad truck off of campus, or a professor ripping down posters put up by students on public bulletin boards because it lacked “context.”
What has the school done about this unabashed suppression of speech? Unfortunately, not much. The school has yet to put out a statement about either of these incidents, and have not replied to any inquiries about them from students or the Review.
Earlier in the year, I wrote how in order for the themed year to be successful, the administration needs to commit, “to the fullest extent it can to this core value.” This would entail decrying suppressing speech from professors and students alike, and forcefully stepping in to protect the free speech rights of all. Regrettably, the University has done precisely the opposite.
This is unfortunate precisely because of what Pollack says; that being exposed to ideas that one disagrees with is, “a core part of a university education.” However, this exposure is badly missing as the response to differing views has been an unmistakable attempt to suppress opposing speech. Until Cornell responds forcefully to this suppression of speech, Cornellians continue to miss out on a “core part” of their education. So much for the year of free expression.
