The College Fix

OPINION: An open letter on 2025 Cornell alumni trustee elections by the Alumni Free Speech Alliance

Dear Cornell Alumni,

While Cornell University declared 2024 as its Celebration Year for Free Speech, 2024 was also the year that the Cornell Administration planned the complete muzzling of all debate about university policies in its Alumni Trustee Elections. A January 22, 2025 press photo of a Cornell Founder statue tells the world of the current state of turmoil at the university. With a focus on promoting open inquiry, academic freedom, and free speech in higher education, we leaders of the non-partisan Alumni Free Speech Alliance (“AFSA”) initiative feel compelled to address the very troubling circumstances at Cornell and the unfair conditions surrounding the upcoming February 2025 Alumni Trustee Elections. Two highly qualified Alumni Trustee candidates Cindy Crawford and Ken Davis bring hope for critically important university reform — but biased election policies recently spotlighted by National Review (“Can Cornell Alumni Steer Their University Away from Campus Madness?”) and The College Fix (“Rigged Election…Cornell Refuses To Allow Pro-Free Speech Trustee Candidates To Campaign”) must be overcome to bring these reforms to Cornell. Although we have had no contact with Ms. Crawford or Mr. Davis, their priorities described on the Cornell Alumni Trustee Election website make clear that these candidates can greatly help Cornell get back on track. Informed alumni votes in the Trustee Elections taking place February 1 to 28, 2025 can help return urgently needed common sense policies to Cornell.

Cornell’s election rules prohibiting free speech and open debate seem designed to prevent fresh-thinking alumni candidates from addressing the university’s serious problems. The administration (supposedly “the governed”) endorses only hand-selected candidates of its own choosing who lack the independence to properly “govern”. The election process stifles new ideas and debate while impeding desperately needed policy changes. The leadership of President Martha Pollack (who stated that DEI is as important to Cornell as free speech) and Provost Michael Kotlikoff has denigrated Cornell’s legacy while marching the school down the road-to-ruin by supplanting educational excellence with “woke” political activism as its primary mission. A Board composed of “rubber stamp” Trustees is not what Cornell now needs.

Cornell alumni have made major policy recommendations which the university has slowly begun to implement – but which must be moved much farther and faster. Loyal alumni can help reverse Cornell’s fall by voting during the February 1-28, 2025 election and considering independent candidates such as Ms. Crawford and Mr. Davis who wish to restore academic freedom, political neutrality, and intellectual diversity to the beautiful campus situated Far Above Cayuga’s Waters.

Trustee Election Rules Prohibit Free Speech & Open Debate

Unfortunately, the current Trustee Election rules completely prohibit open debate and free expression among candidates and alumni voters on the key issues now facing the university. As reported by National Review and laid out in Cornell’s election guidelines, the Trustee Election regulations include the following:

• Those alumni candidates who are selected by the administration (but have received no supporting alumni votes) are designated on the ballot as fully “Endorsed” by the university.

• While those alumni candidates who have independently attracted petition votes and support from thousands of alumni are designated as “Unendorsed” by the university.

• Candidates are prohibited from telling any other alumnus that he or she is a candidate.

• Candidates are prevented from directly communicating their positions or platforms to any other alumni. They are forbidden from contacting alumni in any fashion whatsoever – whether written, verbal, or electronic.

• Candidates cannot respond to any inquiries from alumni voters about where they stand on issues. They cannot speak to their Cornell friends or classmates about any such matters.

• No alumnus anywhere in the world can communicate with any other alumnus about a preferred candidate – whether such communication is known or unknown to the candidate.

• No candidate can be endorsed or publicly supported in any fashion by any other alumnus or alumni group.

• Only campaign materials designed, filtered, vetted, and controlled by the administration can be seen by alumni voters.

• Any violation of any of the above election rules can result in the disqualification of a candidate by the administration.

The above rules are not a joke. This is how “free speech loving” Cornell is running its 2025 Alumni Trustee Election. The entire election process is aimed at imposing a comprehensive “global gag-order” on all Trustee candidates and Cornell alumni across planet Earth. Ironically, this worldwide gag-order for the 2025 Trustee election was codified during Cornell’s highly vaunted “Year Of Free Speech.” This would be laughable if it were not so utterly sad. Despite all the Cornell free speech PR, it is clear that these election rules are designed to suppress independent voices rather than foster a free and fair process of open debate on the very serious issues now confronting Cornell.

Cornell’s Years of Horror

Cornell University is at a crossroads following recent years of growing turmoil, controversy, and mismanagement. These are the reasons why the university must now embrace major policy and personnel reforms:

• Weak Leadership: In recent months, President Martha Pollack and University Relations VP Joel Malina were forced out amid campus-wide antisemitic outbreaks and free speech controversies while faculty whistleblowers exposed unlawful DEI policies prioritized by Provost (now soon-to-be terminated President) Michael Kotlikoff. Leading donors have issued open letters of reprimand and pulled their financial support while successfully demanding the replacement of the president and provost.

• Erosion of Free Speech & Academic Excellence: Cornell’s “Cancel Culture” allows speaker shout-downs and cancellation of Abe Lincoln while respected employers accused of “political non-compliance” are run off-campus by extremist students. The administration has created a curriculum which radicalizes students and a campus environment hostile to basic free speech principles.

• Rampant Antisemitism & Campus Unrest: Cornell’s Jewish community has experienced ongoing harassment marked by multiple incidents of destruction of Cornell property, defacement of university founders, and the unlawful take-over of campus buildings — all signaling a serious breakdown in campus order, safety, and respect. The FBI was called upon to arrest a student for issuing mass death threats against Jewish students. It is not an accident that Cornell is plagued with these eruptions on campus. Such political and social extremism is prized in student admissions and taught in the classroom.

• No Viewpoint Diversity: The student newspaper reports that a 99.5% pure monoculture dominates Cornell’s faculty and staff — creating unhealthy and grossly lopsided political alignments. An atmosphere of GroupThink breeds a professoriate which is “exhilarated” by the murder of innocent Israelis and indoctrinates students with one-sided dogma.

Cornell’s rate of educational decline and institutional decay has been steep. Alarmed alumni still have hope to save Cornell. A change in Trustee composition is now needed.

“Independent Trustees” Can Make A Difference: PLEASE VOTE!

Despite Cornell’s heavy-handed suppression of alumni free speech, a Trustee candidate can be elected with as few as three thousand (3,000) alumni votes. Therefore, independent candidates such as Cindy Crawford and Ken Davis can become Trustees if a modest number loyal Cornellians vote for university reform.

Like other Ivy League and elite schools across America, Cornell University is now in serious trouble. The current Administration and Trustees seem helpless in the face of the reputational decline Cornell is now experiencing – by being wedded to policies that have pushed the university far down the wrong road. Cornell needs new leadership. Cornell needs its alumni to step up. Cornell needs your help NOW!

You can help restore the excellence and greatness that once defined Cornell. We hope Cornell alumni will cast their votes during the February 1-28, 2025 election. Please do this and HELP SAVE CORNELL !

Composed of over 30 AFSA member organizations across the U.S., AFSA is a nonprofit alumni organization dedicated to returning academic freedom, open inquiry, and free expression to America’s colleges and universities.

Respectfully yours,

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