We're gonna be in the news again

[Dafatone]

i saw video. never really saw a foot get rolled over.

reverse this.

You are person going to your car and a group of random people start following and yelling and recording you hitting your car and block you from leaving easily.. You slowly trying to get away for safety?

I do wonder why no campus police were with him to get him out of there.

No one was yelling, and it doesn't look like anyone was hitting the car.

Regardless, the appropriate move was for Kotlikoff to call campus police. If the president can't get campus police to show up after a controversial event within seconds, there are other problems.

[JohnF81]

Now the Sun is reporting that the Cornell chapter of the American Association of Univ. Professors is calling for an independent investigation.

[stereax]

Now the Sun is reporting that the Cornell chapter of the American Association of Univ. Professors is calling for an independent investigation.

We got an email earlier today that the Board of Trustees is creating an independent board too review it.

We also got an email that Canvas was and remains down.

No idea how I'm gonna write my final essays without my syllabi.

[ugarte]

We also got an email that Canvas was and remains down.

No idea how I'm gonna write my final essays without my syllabi.

We told our students that they had extensions to take the last quiz until Canvas came back and we'd extend the deadline to take the final exam. I hope your profs do the same.

[upprdeck]

wonder how many other universities had data stolen in the canvas hack.

[stereax]

Statement from Ad Hoc Special Committee of the Board of Trustees

Cornell University Logo
The Ad Hoc Special Committee of the Board of Trustees, composed of the Chair and Vice Chairs of the Board of Trustees, has completed its review of the events of April 30, 2026, involving Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff and a group of individuals.

In concluding its review, the Committee considered evidence gathered by the Cornell University Police Department (CUPD), which included information gathered at the scene of the incident, verified video footage, and a sworn statement provided by President Kotlikoff to CUPD. The individuals at the scene who reported that the vehicle made contact refused medical treatment from the EMS team and refused to provide sworn statements as to their account of the incident. None of the individuals at the scene have provided sworn statements to CUPD, despite CUPD's repeated attempts to collect sworn statements in the days following the incident. Consistent with its commitment to ensuring a fair and thorough process, the Committee also engaged independent legal counsel to evaluate the independence and integrity of CUPD's investigation into these events.

The Committee has determined that the investigation conducted by CUPD was done pursuant to existing policies without any bias or undue influence. The Committee thanks CUPD for its professionalism and diligence in its independent investigation.

The Committee has found that the actions taken by these individuals on April 30th, which included following President Kotlikoff from an evening event into a parking lot and impeding his ability to leave, are inconsistent with university policies governing expressive activity and our standards for respectful conduct, safety, and the prohibition of intimidation.

CUPD presented the evidence collected to the Tompkins County District Attorney's office, which determined that no criminal charges were warranted against any individuals involved in this matter. President Kotlikoff has declined to pursue a complaint against the students involved, which would have been required to initiate action under the university's code of conduct. Appropriate action is being taken against the non-students involved.

Robust debate and peaceful protest are essential to academic life. Expressive activity must occur within the bounds of the law and with respect for the rights and safety of all members of our community. Over the course of his decades-long tenure at Cornell, President Kotlikoff has conveyed his strong belief that with freedom, particularly freedom of speech, comes responsibility. We urge our community to foster and uphold an environment where we allow for debate and dissent practiced with civility, respect, and accountability.

President Kotlikoff has shown a steadfast commitment to Cornell's values and principles, and we are confident he will continue to lead with integrity as we work together to carry out our shared mission to discover, preserve, and disseminate knowledge, to educate the next generation of global citizens, and to promote a culture of broad inquiry throughout and beyond the Cornell community.
University Relations | 314 Day Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 
© Cornell University

[stereax]

Kotlikoff sent us an email too:

Dear Cornell Community,

When I stepped into the office of president, after many years as part of this community, I made it a priority to remain an active member of our academic community — to attend events, be available for meetings, interact with students, and respond to questions and concerns openly and honestly.

It is in that spirit that I write today about the events of April 30. Now that the ad hoc special committee has released its findings, I would like to share some thoughts and observations about that evening and what followed.

The first observation is one that, disappointingly, has hardly been mentioned in all the coverage and discussion over the past two weeks: the steadfast dedication to respectful exercise of free expression displayed at Cornell throughout the Israel-Palestine Debate Series. I was glad to be able to introduce one of the events, proud of our students for their willingness to engage, and grateful to the organizations involved for their readiness to platform both sides of a controversial and emotional argument. The series provided our students with valuable opportunities to engage respectfully in civil discourse — which they did, taking advantage of a critical and key part of a Cornell education.

The second observation regards the questions and narratives that have emerged over the past two weeks. When I shared my experience with the community on May 1st, I did not believe, based on the information I had at the time, that my car had made any contact with anyone. Only when I saw the videos circulating later did I realize that a student had placed himself directly behind the car without my being aware of it as I backed up. Only the following afternoon did I understand that my experience would look very different in the selected video clips posted on social media and be framed in ways that I found genuinely shocking. In the moment, my goal was extricating myself from the situation safely without escalating it. In retrospect, I certainly should have remained in my car, locked it, and called the police.

There is one more decision that I feel I must explain, both to our community and those beyond it, and that is my decision, after much consideration and discussion, not to pursue a campus code complaint against the enrolled Cornell students involved in this incident. This decision is not a reflection of the seriousness of their behavior, but a consideration of the realities of our code processes: the public hearings required by the code would grant these students even more of the attention they have been seeking. It would, in effect, reward the behavior and further divide our campus community, and this I will not do.

And finally: My commitment to free expression, and to the university Expressive Activity Policy that was created in partnership with our community, is unwavering. Freedom of expression is inherently a concept centered not in the individual, but in the relationships between them; speech only carries meaning when one can speak and another can listen. In a community and in a democracy, any exercise of that freedom carries the responsibility to respect the same rights for others. That is why we have policies and guidelines around free expression at Cornell: to ensure that everyone's rights are protected and that no one can shout-down or silence other views. I will continue to defend those policies with every means at my disposal.

Sincerely,

Michael I. Kotlikoff
President

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

I like that he chose not to prosecute them in order to avoid giving them a platform.  Smart.