About 150 protesters from The Coalition for Mutual Liberation marched from Ho Plaza into Klarman Hall on Monday afternoon, chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and “From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever.”
Approximately 20 minutes after the protesters filled Klarman, police arrived and asked demonstrators to present student IDs for referral for potential disciplinary action.
The demonstration marked the first of the 2024-2025 academic year and was organized by The Coalition for Mutual Liberation — an umbrella organization representing over 40 groups in and around Cornell.
Once in Klarman, CML activists unveiled a banner reading “Peoples school coming soon,” which they hung off the railing with zip ties. A “People’s University” banner was displayed at CML’s encampment in the 2024 spring semester, referring to a section of the camp dedicated to educational programming.
In the last weeks of the 2024 spring semester, CML established an encampment on the Arts Quad to demand changes to University investments, policing and curriculum.
While no students were arrested during the encampment — contrasting with similar demonstrations at peer institutions — several students were suspended for the remainder of the spring academic term.
While Monday’s protest was centered around Palestine, it also touched on the ongoing labor dispute between United Auto Workers Local 2300 — the union representing University food service, custodial, maintenance and other workers — and the University.
UAW Local 2300 has been on strike since Sunday, Aug. 18, when the University and the union failed to agree to a contract by the union’s stated deadline.
UAW Region Nine President Daniel Vicente criticized the University in his speech in Klarman, both for its refusal to meet UAW demands and for its support for Israel — which he called the “Zionist state.”
“Our fight does not end when our contract is signed,” Vicente said. “You guys are going to have to keep pressuring.”
As more police officers arrived and asked students to present identification, demonstration leaders urged the crowd to disperse in groups. The police pulled the banner back from the railing and moved it away from Klarman.
The police told a student asking about repercussions for demonstrators that those who refused to present identification would still see consequences.
“They’re going to face repercussions. Absolutely. It’s all right here,” the officer said, pointing to his body camera.
When the student asked about what would happen to repeat disciplinary offenders, the officer said, “Well, they are going to find out. Because if it’s their second round of not complying, they won’t be here. I don’t know,” while shrugging.
In an Instagram post and flier publicizing the demonstration, CML insinuated that Interim President Michael Kotlikoff’s lack of movement on pro-Palestine activists’ demands may lead to his leaving the presidency.
“If you don’t divest, you’re next,” CML wrote in the post.
Pictures of each of the four recently resigned Ivy League presidents were crossed out in the post, captioned by their date of resignation or retirement. Kotlikoff’s picture was captioned “TBD.”
Since Oct. 7, the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia have resigned in connection with backlash over their response to unrest on campus.
Former president Martha Pollack, who announced her retirement in May, claimed that she independently decided to leave and did not explicitly connect her retirement to protest activity.
Kotlikoff, in only the second month of his term, has already faced a torrent of opposition from pro-Palestine and labor activists.
On Monday morning, red spray-painted pro-Palestine messages reading “Israel bombs, Cornell pays” and “Blood is on your hands” were found scrawled on Day Hall. The front door was also shattered.
In a University statement, Vice President for University Relations Joel Malina said that he was “appalled” by the vandalism and that “property damage (including graffiti) will not be tolerated.”
UAW Local 2300 members and supporters formed pop-up protests every day since the strike’s start, and service in University dining halls has been significantly disrupted.
In an email statement sent to the Cornell community Monday morning titled “Freedom and responsibility,” Kotlikoff and Interim Provost John Siliciano outlined enforcement of Cornell’s Interim Expressive Activity Policy in response to the spring semester encampment.
Kotlikoff and Siliciano stated that through University policy, disciplinary measures would end “peaceful” encampments that violate the expressive activity policy “without resorting to force.”
Involved students would first receive a warning of their violation of University policy, then a “non-academic temporary suspension” on a second violation and a “temporary academic suspension” on a third violation.
The University declined to comment at this time on the Monday afternoon demonstration and police action.
