- A student at Cornell, was charged with harassment by the Ithaca Police Department for spitting on a Muslim student in Collegetown.
- The University is criticised for not adequately addressing Islamophobic incidents against hijabi women and Students for Justice in Palestine.
A University statement issued on April 19 revealed that Salim Dridi was accused of spitting on a Muslim student in Collegetown on March 19. Dridi has now been formally charged with harassment in the second degree by the Ithaca Police Department.
Although no longer enrolled, Dridi, who was pursuing a master of engineering degree in computer science at the time.
According to the statement, Joel Malina, Vice President for University Relations, stated that the University is “saddened that a member of the Cornell community is a suspect in this vile act targeting another student.”
Muslim and Arab students have previously expressed concerns regarding what they say has been an inadequate response from the University to Islamophobic incidents. These include threats directed at hijabi women on Greekrank and the dissemination of death and rape threats to the Instagram account of Students for Justice in Palestine.
On March 20, the Coalition for Mutual Liberation, comprising over 40 organizations advocating for Palestine, issued a statement characterizing the spitting incident as a, “continuation of a climate that Cornell fosters,”citing multiple prior occasions where they feel the University should have addressed safety apprehensions raised by Muslim students.
“This physical act of hate is the manifestation of Cornell administration’s month-long silence in addressing Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian sentiments throughout the Cornell community,” CML asserted.
The University promptly addressed the incident involving the spitting on a Muslim student on the same day it happened. However, none of the eight prior incidents mentioned by CML received attention in official University statements. Nevertheless, two earlier statements, dated Nov. 1 and Feb. 8, explicitly highlighted University initiatives to tackle Islamophobia, including collaboration with external specialists.
