Here’s what you do if you’re an Ivy League student government dealing with a racially contentious situation: “Take action” by proclaiming hate crimes and “hate speech” … are bad.
That’s what the Cornell Student Assembly did on Thursday, with 65 students signing on to the measure. It passed the Assembly virtually unanimously, with 19 in favor and one abstention.
The SA was reacting to a couple of recent racial incidents on campus, including members of a fraternity yelling “build a wall” near a Latino center, and the roughing up of a black student by several white peers.
The latter led to some 300 students occupying Willard Straight Hall in protest, with campus officials looking the other way. Police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, but have said there were “no significant injuries reported as a result of this incident.”
Lost in the virtue signaling moment was an affirmation of free speech principles:
“I’ve seen some people attacking this resolution and going against it to say that we need [to] defend free speech and we absolutely don’t need to do that,” said assemblymember Dara Tokunboh. “We need to pass this … we’re actually coming together and doing something, a solid concrete thing.”
According to The Cornell Daily Sun, the SA resolution “condemns the recent actions and calls on the University Assembly Codes and Judicial Committee to address the demands from Black Students United. Some of those demands include courses on “privilege and power,” and a permanent ban on the Psi Upsilon fraternity with its house converted to a black student cultural center.
After this resolution was passed, leaders from the Greek Tri-Council presented a plan for how the Greek system would respond and then fielded questions from community members.
“To preface this, nothing we can say or do up here today or ever can alleviate the injustices that people of color or other marginalized groups have faced, especially in the past few weeks,” said Drew Lord ’18, Interfraternity Council president.
“Horrible people are always going to do horrible things,” he continued. “We acknowledge that the Greek system has historically promoted … elitism and exclusionary behavior. While this is our past, it certainly doesn’t have to define our future and that’s why we’re here today.”
Some community members voiced concerns regarding the efficacy of the plan and whether the chapters would be held accountable for adhering to the new rules.
“This stuff takes way more time to actually come to fruition … than we are here on campus for,” Lord said, acknowledging that implementing widespread change is an imperfect, time-consuming process. “This is a very frustrating thing.”
However, SA President Jung Won Kim ’18 said that he was very impressed the thoroughness of the Greek Tri-Council’s plan.
“I want to personally say that I read through the statement and I’m very impressed. I think I speak for the Student Assembly when I say thank you,” he said. “This is one of the most comprehensive plans I’ve seen, formed by any organization … and I think that a lot of community members feel, I hope at least, that it’s a step in the right direction.”
Lord is right — horrible people are always going to do horrible things, and no amount of in-your-face demands or feel-good pat-yourself-on-the-back resolutions will stop them.
MORE: Cornell rewards hundreds of squatters who occupy building to protest alleged racial attack
MORE: Cornell in uproar after frat bro yells ‘build a wall’ near Latino center
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