Last week, three students, hereby dubbed the “Statler Three,” were arrested by the Cornell University Police Department following a protest for divestment from weapons manufacturers facilitating the genocide in Palestine. These arrests come after the non-academic suspension of more than a dozen other Cornell Students. Interim President Kotlikoff stated that Cornell has identified “nearly 20” individuals who participated at a career fair disruption on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Of the individuals contacted by Cornell administration, the vast majority have identified as Palestinian, Indigenous, Jewish, Black or an otherwise marginalized identity. For my column this week, I am sharing a statement from the Coalition for Mutual Liberation regarding the Statler Three:

Over these past two days Cornell Police have arrested three students for their alleged involvement in the pro-Palestinian movement. The University tries to silence their voices but we will be heard, for this movement is bigger than three individuals. These arrests are insignificant compared to the consequences that previous protesters, journalists and resistance fighters faced while fighting for Palestinian liberation. This movement will never die, for we the people are first and foremost scholars that bear the responsibility to act — and act we will. We are taught time and time again that we learn so that we may use that knowledge to better the world we live in. But how can we do so in a university that ignores their role in the active genocide and dispossession of Indigenous peoples across this country and around the world? We call on you to fulfill your roles as scholars and impart this knowledge to you all here.

We are now well over a year into the most documented genocide in history. As of June 2024, the Lancet Journal estimated that there may have been at least 186,000 deaths attributed to........

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