Local News: April 23, 2024

Cornell Undergrad Vote Supports Gaza Ceasefire, Divestment Last week Cornell undergraduate voted in a referendum polling their views on a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from 10 military contractors supplying Israel. According to the Cornell Sun, nearly 50% of eligible students voted. And votes for a ceasefire and divestment outweighed those against by nearly two…

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Local News: April 22, 2024

Public Hearing on ICSD Budget Announced Ithaca City School District has announced a public hearing on its proposed 2024-2025 operating budget. The meeting will take place May 14 at 5:30 p.m. at York Hall at Ithaca High School. Last week we reported on a 5-hour meeting during which the board heard from taxpayers concerned with…

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Local News: April 19, 2024

Case Against Day Hall Protestors Conditionally Dismissed A case against Cornell student and staff protestors will likely be dismissed. Twenty-four members of the Coalition for Mutual Liberation who staged a sit in at Day Hall in March appeared before Judge Seth Peacock Wednesday. The charges will be dropped  provided the defendants don’t commit further violations…

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Local News: April 17, 2024

ICSD Board Cuts Proposed Budget Ahead of May 21 Vote The Ithaca City School Board has made cuts to their proposed budget. According to the Ithaca Times, the adjustment was made after a 5-hour meeting with the public. Board members heard from a range of homeowners who spoke to the effect of rising taxes on…

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Local News: April 16, 2024

Graduate students at Cornell are pushing the administration to act more quickly in negotiations with their union. According to the Ithaca Voice, last week about 200 graduate students rallied at Day Hall. Organizer Sadie Seddon-Stettler said that the university isn’t making contract negotiation a priority. The union maintains a dashboard showing the status of various…

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Local News April 15, 2024

Competing rallies were held at Cornell Sunday. One was billed as a “Jewish Unity” rally and featured speakers who decried what they say is a rise in antisemitism at Cornell and across the country. The other was organized by the Coalition for Mutual Liberation whose demands include that Cornell divest from what they call genocide…

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LISTEN: Freedom of Expression at Cornell – Academic freedom

This is the last of my three stories about freedom of expression at Cornell University this year. Here are links to the first and second stories. The academic theme at Cornell this year is “Freedom of Expression.”  In earlier stories, we reported about the general mood at Cornell around free speech, and students’ opinions about…

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Local News: April 11, 2024

– Former Cornell student who threatened Jewish campus community pleads guilty – The former Cornell undergraduate who posted violent, antisemitic threats against the Jewish campus community pleaded guilty in the federal court in Syracuse on Wednesday. WRVO Public Radio reports Patrick Dai admitted to “posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications.” Under…

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