After the traditional memorial was doused in bright crimson color by pro-Palestinian protesters on the first day of the spring semester, Cornell University just covered the monument of its foundation president Andrew Dickson White.
The classic statue was entirely hidden behind a big, dark plastic tarp, according to photos obtained by a Cornell outsider on Thursday, which revealed the painting, which resembled blood and contained the words “occupation = death” and “divest from death.”
” The operate mirrored the first day of classes of the fall 2024 quarter, when ‘ Israel weapons, Cornell pays’ and ‘ Body is on your fingers ‘ were spray painted in dark along the front entrance of Day Hall — Cornell’s major operational 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”.
According to opinion editor Henry Schechter,” Anonymously pouring paint on and defacing the statue of a man who spent time incorporating equality into education is a low blow and exposes deep gaps in the mission of the Coalition for Mutual Liberation, Cornell’s main group of pro-Palestinian protesters,”
” 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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