On the first day of classes at Cornell University, anti-Israel vandals defaced a building, shattering glass at the entrance of Day Hall and spray-painting messages such as “Blood is on your hands” and “Israel bombs and Cornell pays.”
“We had to accept that the only way to make ourselves heard is by targeting the only thing the university administration truly cares about: property,” the vandals said in an anonymous statement to the Cornell Daily Sun, the school’s student newspaper.
The vandals, who targeted the building overnight or in the early morning, justified their actions in an anonymous statement to the Cornell Daily Sun, claiming that damaging property was the only way to make themselves heard.
They criticized the university administration, accusing it of upholding a “fascist, classist, imperial machine.”
“With the start of this new academic year, the Cornell administration is trying desperately to upkeep a facade of normalcy knowing that, since last semester, they have been working tirelessly to uphold Cornell’s function as a fascist, classist, imperial machine,” the activists said.
In response to the incident, Joel M. Malina, Cornell’s vice president for university relations, condemned the vandalism and warned that those responsible would face suspension and criminal charges.
“We are appalled by the graffiti spray painted, and glass shattered overnight along the front entrance of Day Hall,” Malina said in a statement. “Acts of violence, extended occupation of buildings, or property damage (including graffiti) will not be tolerated and will prompt an immediate response from public safety.”
The incident coincided with a virtual meeting that New York Governor Kathy Hochul had scheduled with college and university presidents across the state to discuss campus safety, amid concerns over a potential resurgence of protests and disorder on campuses.
