• A second year undergraduate student has been suspended for heading the Cornell University Encampment.
• Nick Wilson’s group have been urging the University to divest their ties to IDF weapon advanced weapon suppliers, Technion.
On Tuesday, Nick Wilson, 26, declined an offer from the University to earn academic credit for the Spring 2024 semester in return for ceasing his involvement with the pro-Palestine encampment on the Arts Quad. Wilson, one of four students suspended on Friday for their participation in the encampment, faced the consequence of losing all credit for this semester.
The Coalition for Mutual Liberation’s press release revealed that the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards made a conditional proposal on April 30th. This offer entailed Wilson receiving “incomplete” grades, allowing him to potentially earn credit for the semester upon completing outstanding assignments after the suspension is lifted. However, in accepting the offer, Wilson would need to sign a written agreement agreeing not to continue expressing support for students joining the encampment protest.
OSCCS Director Christina Liang called for a meeting with Wilson under the guise of delving into the details of the suspension. However, during the meeting, Liang presented the deal as a verbal offer.
Wilson responded to the offer made: “This agreement represents an unprecedented escalation in Cornell’s campaign to silence community members who are speaking out in support of Palestinian liberation,” Wilson asserted in the press release. “Cornell believes they can take away our right to free expression, wrongfully suspend us and then bribe us into submission — all while continuing to support genocide with our tuition dollars. I will not be intimidated.”
Wilson also said he is receiving legal advice regarding future steps outside of University procedure if the University does not repeal his suspension.
Wilson was on the board of 8 negotiators to speak with the University Administration. Of the 8, 3 from the negotiating teams were suspended.
The group’s demands entailed Cornell University ceasing its investment partnership with Technion, a company implicated in supplying weaponry utilized in the Gaza genocide. Cornell’s collaboration involves facilitating the research and development of advanced weapon systems by Technion, which are subsequently employed by the IDF.
70% of Cornell University students supported the divestment demand. When the press asked Wilson, “Why is this cause so important to you?”
He replied, “It’s certainly a sacrifice…There are a lot students out there who have taken the decision to take the same risk. The national student movement that is sweeping our country are saying there’s something more important than our academic futures or our future careers and that is preventing the ongoing genocide. There is a question here that is moving enough for students and they are willing to put quite a lot on the line. For us it’s the rational thing to do. We want to tell our children and grandchildren that as the genocide was progressing, we were standing up to object to it…”
