Cornell University faces criticism after ‘window dressing’ statement against antisemitism on campus
A prominent Cornell University professor has called the Ivy League president’s recent statement on continued antisemitism on campus mere “window dressing” as the school faces threats of the removal of federal funding.
“Coming a day after a congressional letter putting Cornell’s federal funding at risk, the Cornell administration’s reaction seems like window dressing, to make it seem they are doing something,” William Jacobson, a clinical professor at Cornell Law School who joined the faculty in 2007, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
On Thursday, Cornell University President Martha E. Pollack wrote a letter to the student body condemning an antisemitic incident on the prestigious university’s campus.
“This morning we learned of a post on social media allegedly from a Cornell student explicitly stating that ‘Zionists must die.’ Cornell Police and the Office of Student Conduct are investigating and if we determine that it was posted by a member of the Cornell community, they will be held fully accountable and appropriately sanctioned,” Pollack wrote. “This post is heinous, and I condemn it in the strongest terms.”
William A. Jacobson, a clinical professor at Cornell Law School who joined the faculty in 2007, called on the Cornell Board of Trustees to help Jewish students. (Getty/FOX)
On Thursday, Rep. Jason Smith, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, launched a probe into four top-ranked universities over their responses to antisemitism on their campuses.
Smith said that Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology all failed “to adequately protect Jewish students from discrimination and harassment.”
The Republican House member questioned their tax-exempt status and whether they were fulfilling their nonprofit educational mission.
“Given the disappointing and lackluster responses by your respective universities to Hamas’ attacks and your subsequent failure to adequately protect Jewish students from discrimination and harassment, we question whether your institutions are satisfying the requirements to receive these benefits,” Smith wrote, referencing the school’s lucrative financial benefits from receiving a tax-exempt status.
A man walks through the Cornell University campus on November 3, 2023 in Ithaca, New York. The university canceled classes after one of its students is accused of making violent antisemitic threats. (Matt Burkhartt/Getty Images)
Smith’s letter also accused the four universities of inconsistently protecting free speech on their campuses and argued that they had disciplined students and employees over other matters.
“Ultimately, as the U.S. House Committee with primary jurisdiction over tax-exempt institutions and the treatment of their endowments, we are left to wonder whether reexamining the current benefits and tax treatment afforded to your institutions is necessary,” Smith wrote.
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Smith requested that the universities provide their policies on free speech rights.
He also asked the institutions to detail the role of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs on their campuses and whether these efforts serve Jewish students.
The universities have until Jan. 24 to respond.
(L to R) Martha Pollack, president of Cornell University, Daniel Huttenlocher, dean of Cornell Tech and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg attend a dedication ceremony to mark the opening of the new campus of Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island, September 13, 2017 in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Following Pollack’s statement and Smith’s letter, Jacobson pointed to the university’s DEI culture as the root cause of continued antisemitism.
“The problem is not what some student put on his or her personal social media, as hateful as the statements may be, but the campus DEI culture that enables and encourages such hatred based on false oppressor-oppressed and decolonization narratives that leave Israel and Jews dehumanized,” Jacobson said.
The Cornell professor said that the administration appears to be “doubling down on DEI” rather than eliminating it altogether.
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“The administration is doubling down on DEI rather than eliminating it,” Jacobson said. “I once again call on the Cornell administration and Board of Trustees to begin the process of eliminating the group-identity balkanization of the campus, and to return us to the focus on academics and the rights and dignity of the individual.”
Rep. Jason Smith and Cornell University did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
