Cornell graduate student union demonstrates against protester removal

Nearly 100 members and supporters of Cornell Graduate Students United, the union that represents Cornell University graduate employees, rallied Friday against the suspension of one of their members.

Graduate student Sriram Parasurama was temporarily suspended from Cornell and banned from campus for three years after participating in a pro-Palestinian protest. Career fair featuring arms manufacturers In September.

Parasurma was also arrested by Cornell police and charged with obstructing government administration and disrupting unlawful assembly. Cornell Sun reported Ithaca city Assistant District Attorney Amelia Carol Christian suggested that she and the other arrested students should plead guilty to a lesser disorderly conduct charge instead.

Protest participants pushed through a police line to enter a career fair featuring weapons manufacturers L-3 Harris and Boeing.

Boeing became the largest U.S. manufacturer of missiles and other military weapons shipped to Israel between 2021 and 2023. KUOW in Seattle reported.

Once inside, protesters banged pots and pans and chanted slogans. The protest ultimately caused the university to close the career fair early.

The Cornell Graduate Students Association said the university justified its lengthy ban by saying Parasurama posed a danger to health and safety.

But union members speaking at Friday’s rally said Parasurama was not a danger. Instead, they described him as a beloved member of the Cornell School of Integrative Plant Sciences who was unfairly punished by his employer for speaking out against the war in Gaza.

Union member Olga Khmelnitsky was one of the leaders of Friday’s protest. He said that although Parasurama’s suspension was temporary, the consequences for his life and career were permanent.

“In light of this temporary, temporary, temporary discipline, he’s lost his finances, he’s lost his health care, he’s going to lose his salary as well,” he said.

Parasurama is also a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. The disciplinary action put his scholarship at risk, according to a video statement posted on the union’s social media.

Khmelnitsky said the union continues to bargain on Parasurama’s behalf against disciplinary action.

The union is also working on an initial contract with the university. Members of Cornell Graduate Students United said they hope the contract includes “Just Cause” standards that could give the union more leverage in disciplinary negotiations.

Just cause is to protect employees from unfair dismissals. This means an employer must provide good reason for disciplinary action, and disciplinary cases like Parasurama’s will require due process.

Friday’s protest was also led by union member and graduate student Katie Rohrbaugh. He said Parasurama’s suspension was part of a trend of unfair discipline against people protesting the war in Gaza.

“We’re seeing a lot of disproportionate punishments and these kinds of covert disciplinary measures, particularly in response to the pro-Palestinian movement,” he said.

The suspension of international graduate student Momodou Taal, another pro-Palestinian activist and union member, garnered national attention because of the impact of disenrollment on his immigration status. Six participants at a protest camp were also removed last spring, and more than 20 people were arrested during the sit-in.

Cornell declined to comment on the graduate student’s rally or disciplinary action against Parasurama. Michael Kotlikoff, the university’s interim president, said in September that the career fair protest had created an “atmosphere of intimidation and fear.”