Alyiah Gonzales (Literatures in English website)
Monday, January 22, as the first day of class, brings a certain level of excitement, as students and their instructors begin to bond. It also marks the start of the all-important shopping process as students evaluate what classes to add or to drop before the add/drop deadline.
On Monday, Alyiah Gonzales, a teaching assistant, canceled the first day of “ENGL 1160: FWS Intersections: Race, Writing, and Power.” Gonzales is a graduate student in the Department of Literatures in English. Her bio describes herself as:
“dedicated to the queer, coalitional, and transformative possibilities of literature written by, for, and about Black womxn. Alyiah locates their research interests in literary fiction that depicts enduring and resilient relationships between Black womxn characters, with particular emphasis on texts and authors that reimagine the constructions and possibilities of community in their representation of nonheteronormative relationships and queer belonging among Black womxn.”
Gonzales’ email stated:
“Today, I am canceling class in solidarity with collective calls for a Global Strike for Palestine. As I write to you, a short drive away from the university we all attend and that I have the privilege of teaching you in, I mourn the fact that all universities in Gaza have been destroyed or demolished by Israeli military forces and operations.”
The email also gave a writing assignment instead of holding class:
“As your first writing assignment of the semester, I’d like you to write a 2-3 page letter/essay in which you share why you chose to enroll in Race, Writing, and Power as your [Freshman Writing Seminar] course… Please reflect on your intentions coming into the course, what knowledge you hope to deepen and share with myself [sic] and your peers, and how you presently understand the relationship between writing, power, and systems of oppression (including, but not limited to, race, gender, class, dis/ability, etc)”
Coincident with this controversy, on January 23, Provost Michael Kotlikoff sent a message to all faculty and instructors saying, in part:
“Many of us have deep personal connections and strong feelings regarding events occurring in the Middle East. It is incumbent on all of us, however, to ensure that we focus on our core missions of teaching and research, and that instructors avoid creating conditions that disenfranchise or intimidate those who do not share their views. Amid these challenging conditions, it is especially important that the university adheres to its core mission and responsibilities to educate, and to respect diverse perspectives.”
“Cornell is firmly committed to the robust exploration of ideas, with civic discourse a cornerstone of our core value of free and open inquiry and expression. In modeling civic discourse, it is essential that faculty and instructors avoid the use of the classroom, scheduling, or other academic activities to advance personal political views.”
It is not clear what actions Cornell or the English Department will take against Gonzales for canceling the class. Although the Faculty Senate and Trustees have adopted a “Cornell Policy Statement on Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech and Expression” its guarantees of academic freedom may not apply fully to graduate teaching assistants. However, the policy does apply “in the context of instruction.”
While this article was being reviewed, Cornell removed public access to Gonzales’ bio, including her email address. On Sunday, January 28, the Cornell Free Speech Alliance found a screen capture of her bio webpage and sent it to a large email distribution list, without masking her email address.
The situation attracted media coverage from Jewish Insider and the Washington Free Beacon.
