Author: Amandla Thomas-Johnson
Published on: 12/03/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had been spotted conducting raids in downtown Ithaca. President Donald Trump had signed an executive order asking agencies to consider deporting foreign students who faced disciplinary action for activism on Palestine. Cornell singled out 15 of us for suspension, mostly Black, Muslim, Arab and Jewish students. Four of us are international students and could face deportation. I, myself, was suspended following student takeover of career fair. Bianca Waked, a Canadian Arab student, was suspended in April 2024 for leading a protest encampment on campus. The suspensions are embarrassing for an institution that prides itself on freedom of expression. Cornell and other universities have left the door wide open for Trump’s book-burning insurgents to run riot. Cornell opened the first department of Africana Studies in the US. The level of censorship at the university became a matter of public embarrassment. Angela Davis was introduced by one of Cornell’s most senior Black administrators. Cornell must offer assurances that it will not work with immigration authorities and the Department of Homeland Security to remove us. Cracking down on legitimate protest and dissent will get it nowhere. It got Columbia nowhere already.
Original: 1319 words
Summary: 193 words
Percent reduction: 85.37%