Refer to the original article published on Thursday, Sep. 19 for background information.
Today the Review resumed its investigation into the anonymous distribution of flyers smearing Julius Kairey, a conservative columnist for Cornell’s major newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun, which did not run a story on this event today. Kairey is unaffiliated with the Review.
Last night, members of the Review found a total of 15 of the flyers distributed throughout various floors of Olin Library on Central Campus. The original ones, a photo of which was posted on Facebook midday yesterday, were located on North Campus, where all freshmen housing is located.
Cornell University Police Department (CUPD) Sergeant Richard Gourley, in answering a question about whether the flyers qualify as harassment, told the Review, “Someone could be accused [of harassment].”
Gourley added that the situation “isn’t black and white” and that he could not comment on where the line between acceptable criticism and personal harassment is drawn. He said that the issue is a legal one, not a law enforcement one. CUPD officers did provide the Review with the New York state law on harassment, pictured below.
CUPD officers also said that only Kairey could file a complaint because he is the only victim. Kairey has declined to comment about the situation.
The Review is also awaiting a response from Darren Jackson, head of bias reporting on campus, about the university’s policy and response to this incident.
