Cornell University has become representative of the crisis facing students and faculty who advocate for Palestinian human rights. Cornell presents itself as a champion of academic freedom and diversity, claiming it is committed to the “freedom to engage in research and scholarship, to teach and to learn, to express oneself and to be heard, and to assemble and to protest peacefully and lawfully.” Yet, in practice, it has cultivated a deeply hostile environment for Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and allied students and faculty who protest the genocide in Gaza. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s (FIRE) 2025 College Free Speech Rankings ranked Cornell University 215th out of 248 institutions nationwide. The university received particularly low scores for its administrative support of free expression and for failing to foster a climate that encourages open discourse. Amid a broader national crackdown on Palestine solidarity, Cornell has stood out for its use of disciplinary measures, surveillance, and silence in the face of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian harassment.  On November 16, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened a formal investigation into Cornell University for possible violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  

At Cornell, students reported a broader pattern of neglect: threats against Muslim women on anonymous forums, including calls for violence and deeply dehumanizing language, had gone unaddressed. On one site, a post allegedly suggested “people should bring guns and ‘slave women in hijab’ to Cornell parties.” During Ramadan in 2024, a Muslim student was reportedly spat on and shoved on campus, and many students criticized the Cornell administration for what they described as selective outrage. Cornell University Alumni for Palestine reportedly collected almost 600 signatories who signed a letter saying, “recent hate-fueled incidents against Palestinian, Muslim and Arab students on campus have resulted in no substantive response or protection offered to victims.”  

Despite condemnation from students and faculty, Cornell has repeatedly used arrests, suspensions, bans, and other means to suppress students and faculty from exercising free speech against genocide. In March 2024, 22 students were reportedly arrested for standing inside the university demanding that its Board of Trustees vote to divest from arms suppliers and companies providing weapons to Israel. Even after 70.8% of student voters were reportedly in favor of Cornell calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from weapons manufacturers, former Cornell University President, Martha E. Pollack, reportedly declined to implement either of their demands, effectively silencing them. In April 2024, four students participating in a peaceful encampment were reportedly suspended and barred from campus. One student claimed that Cornell was discriminating against him due to his international student status, even though the Civil Rights Act of 1964 includes protections for everyone, regardless of citizenship, residency, or immigration status. “What that sounds like to me is that our right to free speech is not as important as American students’ rights, or rather, comes at a much higher cost than American students,” the student said. Faculty members and civil rights groups reportedly denounced the move as retaliatory, and pronounced the encampment as peaceful, stating there was no violence, harassment, discrimination, or threat to health or safety. 

In September 2024, Cornell reportedly used surveillance, including video and photographic evidence, to suspend almost 20 students who protested a career fair for defense contractors. Most of the students reportedly identified as Palestinian, Indigenous, Jewish, Black, or with an otherwise marginalized identity. Three of those students, reportedly later named the “Statler Three,” were arrested and suspended, and one was ordered to study remotely. Four students were reportedly banned from campus for three years. One of the students who was reportedly the vice president of Jewish Voice for Peace on campus reported, “It’s a scare tactic. … Students should not be afraid of speaking out when the University is frankly going back on its promise of free speech.” 

While students were being suspended for demanding divestment, Cornell’s Board Chair was allegedly making millions from the shares that jumped in value from the company that makes parts for the types of fighter planes used by Israel in Gaza. The company recently claimed a backlog in orders due in part to conflict in the Middle East. The Cornell Daily Sun reported that the Chair of Cornell’s Board of Trustees, Kraig H. Kayser, personally profited from investments in the same major weapons manufacturers that were listed in the student divestment campaigns. Kayser reportedly earned millions while directing the university’s financial policies. This blatant conflict of interest exposes Cornell’s rejection of divestment as financially self-serving and ethically bankrupt, further entrenching the university’s complicity in violence and repression.   

In March 2025, Cornell Ph.D. candidate Momodou Taal’s student visa was revoked, and he was ordered to surrender to ICE for his activism in support of Palestinian human rights and against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Rather than protecting his rights or standing up for academic freedom, Cornell reportedly willingly complied with federal enforcement agencies, enabling the Department of Homeland Security’s politically motivated crackdown on student dissent. As a result, he was reportedly forced to leave the country, abandon his doctoral program, and withdraw a civil rights lawsuit he had filed against the Trump administration. “I have lost faith I could walk the streets without being abducted,” Taal said on X, “Weighing up these options, I took the decision to leave on my own terms.” Cornell’s failure to defend one of its own students, particularly one targeted for his political advocacy, sends a chilling message: students who speak out for Palestinian rights may face life-altering consequences, especially if they are non-citizens. Taal’s case is a clear example of how Cornell administration can be complicit in suppressing political speech through collaboration with federal authorities, thereby creating a hostile campus environment. A faculty letter signed by hundreds in April 2025 reportedly called on the Board of Trustees to protect academic freedom and resist political interference.  

Cornell has built a campus environment in which Muslim, Palestinian, and allied students are surveilled, sanctioned, harassed, and silenced. The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) condemned Cornell University for cancelling Kehlani’s “Slope Day” performance, citing her pro-Palestinian stance. Rather than upholding its stated values of equity, academic freedom, and student safety, Cornell has aligned itself with political expediency and corporate interests. Its selective condemnation, collaboration with federal crackdowns, and refusal to protect vulnerable students constitute a willful betrayal of its mission. Cornell must be recognized for what it is: a hostile campus for Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, and allied students and faculty.