Cornell University recently covered the statue of its founding President Andrew Dickson White after the historic statue was doused in bright red paint by pro-Palestinian protesters on the first day of the spring semester.
Photos taken by a Cornell insider on Thursday and provided to The College Fix show the iconic statue remained completely hidden behind a large black plastic tarp to hide the graffiti, which resembled blood and included the words “divest from death” and “occupation = death.”
“The act mirrored the first day of classes of the fall 2024 semester, when ‘Israel bombs, Cornell pays’ and ‘Blood is on your hands’ were spray painted in red along the front entrance of Day Hall — Cornell’s main administrative building,” the Cornell Daily Sun reported.
University officials told the Sun campus police are investigating.
“Vandalism violates our code of conduct and the law,” the statement read. “Graffiti is property damage, which is a crime. We are committed to identifying the perpetrators responsible.”
An op-ed published Tuesday in the Sun called the vandals “petulant.”
“Anonymously pouring paint on and defacing the statue of a man who spent time incorporating equality into education is a low blow and reveals deep cracks in the mission of the Coalition for Mutual Liberation, Cornell’s main group of pro-Palestinian protesters,” wrote opinion editor Henry Schechter.
“After over a year of protest, an abandoned encampment, the shutdown of a career fair and now this, the group of activists’ actions have simply become petulant. They lack realistic goals. After no results from the administration and a new ceasefire in Gaza, CML continues down its same path, now more aggressively, and hopes for a change that isn’t coming.”
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IMAGES: The College Fix / Inside image: posted by a student on an anonymous Cornell discussion board
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