Student Council Member Among Pro-Palestinian Activists Suspended for Disruption of Career Fair

The university suspended at least 15 students; 10 of them are able to continue their studies but have limited access to campus this semester, and five of them have been suspended. banned According to one, he was completely away from campus for several years expression from Cornell’s Young Democratic Socialists of America.

This number includes Sara Almosawi ’25, the Student Union’s first-generation student representative, and international graduate student Momodou Taal. suspension It attracted worldwide media attention.

Suspensions linked to pro-Palestinian figure protest where are the activists hardly He forced his way into Statler Hall, forcing police to shut down a Sept. 18 career fair featuring defense contractors Boeing and L3Harris. A university spokesperson said Cornell has identified 19 protesters at the event to date who were “disrupting university operations.” The spokesman declined to say whether any faculty or staff members were facing discipline.

Almosawi, who also serves as co-president of the Cornell YDSA, received an email on Sept. 23 from Christina Liang, director of the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, informing him that he would receive a full suspension. The university alleges Almosawi was observed repeatedly blowing on a kazoo at a rally on the first day of classes and using a noisemaker at a career fair. During a face-to-face meeting with Liang, he was able to negotiate the punishment down to a non-academic suspension.

The current terms of the suspension prohibit Almosawi from carrying out any of his SA responsibilities, including participating in committees (he serves on the Communications Committee, Appropriations Committee and Diversity Committee) and from proposing or voting on any resolutions. Liang banned him from attending SA meetings, both in person and virtually.

Almosawi told The Sun he has no plans to resign as of now.

“First-generation students deserve to have a voice that represents them in Student Council,” Almosawi said. “I hope it ends, but if it looks like it’s going to drag on then I’d be open to resigning.”

During his suspension, Almosawi can attend classes and access other basic needs, such as appointments at Cornell Health, but must request special permissions for other activities, including visiting library archives or attending academic-related campus conversations. When it comes to pre-approved activities, such as working on campus and visiting Cornell Health, Almosawi must give Liang advance notice of his schedule. So far, Almosawi said, he has not been allowed to attend religious ceremonies on campus.

“He says the purpose of this suspension is to reduce my footprint on campus,” Almosawi said, referring to Liang. Almosawi added that Cornell activists have built a community through their work. “Community is what gives us strength. “Cornell is trying to take that away from us.”

While Almosawi noted that Liang initially responded quickly via email, he said there has been “radio silence” since last Friday, affecting his ability to work on campus.

Cornell YDSA criticized the suspensions as illegal and accused the University of depriving suspended students of due process. When asked to comment on these allegations, a University spokesperson referred to an incident dated September 30. message Interim President Michael Kotlikoff explains the university’s student referral process.

“When a student is referred for an alleged violation, OSCCS evaluates whether interim measures are immediately necessary to protect the community, including the protection of ongoing activities essential to the mission of the university,” Kotlikoff wrote. “The rules instruct OSCCS to implement the least restrictive measures necessary to protect the public from ongoing harm.”

Almosawi plans to appeal his suspension to Vice President Ryan Lombardi.

He said he was concerned about what he called the “deterioration of democratic principles on this campus.”

“Student Assembly is one of the few places on campus where intellectual discourse is formalized and solutions to difficult problems on campus are created,” Almosawi wrote in a message to The Sun. “My suspension not only punishes me for exercising my freedom of speech, it also silences the views of first-generation students on campus.”

Aarush Rompally is a Sun contributor and can be reached at (email protected).

Ximena Balli is a Sun contributor and can be reached at: (email protected).

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