Momodou Taal, a graduate student at Cornell University, has been suspended for the second time for his role in anti-Israel campus protests, and may now have to leave the US or face deportation. The move marks an inflection point as elite American colleges begin penalising disruptive and rule-breaking protests.

Last week, protesters targeted a campus job fair because of the presence of weapons manufacturers. Cornell responded with a stern rebuke, noting that, in addition to the event being shut down, attendees experienced potential hearing loss as a result of the use of bullhorns, screaming and the banging of pots and pans. Alongside the suspension, the university is revoking Taal’s visa, meaning he’ll no longer be able to stay in the US legally, according to the Cornell Sun. He was previously one of four students suspended in the spring over an unauthorised encampment protest, and now accuses Cornell of a “targeted campaign of intimidation and harassment” against him.

Cornell clarified in a statement to UnHerd that “universities can disallow enrolment and bar a student from campus, but do not have deportation powers”. However, the university is required by law to terminate a student visa when that student is no longer enrolled due to disciplinary measures, as is the case for Taal. Without a visa, he will soon become eligible for deportation unless he first leaves voluntarily.

Following a turbulent year rife with rule-breaking student demonstrations, Cornell announced policy changes last month aimed at curtailing protests and extricating the university from the Israel-Palestine issue, which pitted some major donors against progressive student groups. Cornell responded by adopting a policy of institutional neutrality, a sharp turn from past years during which the president has released official statements in response to hot-button events such as the death of George Floyd.

Other elite schools are taking a similarly stern approach to campus protests. Harvard announced in late August that it would call in the police against disruptive demonstrations, and the university’s president warned that students must be “prepared to be held accountable” for breaking the rules. Meanwhile, Stanford banned campus encampments this month and in August Yale announced a series of rules restricting campus protests, including an 11pm curfew for events, restrictions on chalking, posters and projections, and a ban on sleeping outdoors overnight. Apparently aware of the surge in protest activity during final exams, the school also banned protests in the heart of campus throughout the month of May.

Ivy League universities pushing back against progressive activism marks a sea change in the culture wars. Whereas these colleges and their predominantly Left-leaning staff were once viewed as bastions of progressivism, the disruptive nature of the past year’s protests, combined with intense pushback from pro-Israel donors, has forced university leaders into positions of restraint.

“These intimidating tactics have no place in a university and violate our commitments to each other”, Cornell said in an official statement last week. “Actions have consequences, on campus and in the criminal justice system.”

---

is UnHerd’s US correspondent.

laureldugg

---