Protesting students break the rules (and the law) at Swarthmore and Cornell

Protestors acting illegally have caused trouble both at Swarthmore College (known for its wokeness) and Cornell University.  The presidents of both schools have sent out letters to their communities.

First, from an archived report at the Delaware County Times:

Students and staff at Swarthmore College were greeted Friday with hundreds of acts of vandalism and graffiti calling on the school to “divest now” scrawled around numerous building and trees.

Friday is one of four times during the year the Swarthmore College Board of Managers traditionally meets on campus.

In a letter to the campus community, President Val Smith said that during a 30-minute window a handful of individuals made their way across campus and committed hundreds of acts of vandalism

The vandalism mainly consists of pro-Palestinian messages and symbols, as well as language targeting the College’s Board of Managers, was spray-painted on buildings, trees, fences, walkways and other areas of campus.

Two shots of the graffiti, uncredited but from the article above. “Intifada” and “Divest” are prominent. In other words, the usual:

Here’s the letter to the Swarthmore community from President Val Smith:

Swarthmore College President’s Office

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff Members,

Regretfully, I write today to share with you that, early this morning, during what we believe was about a 30-minute window, a handful of individuals made their way across campus and committed hundreds of acts of vandalism. The vandalism mainly consists of pro-Palestinian messages and symbols, as well as language targeting the College’s Board of Managers, spray-painted on buildings, trees, fences, walkways, and other areas of campus.

We understand that some of you might find the vandalism offensive for various reasons. You will find information on support services and resources below. Please know that, while staff members in Environmental Services, Grounds, and Facilities are working diligently to address the damage, the vandalism is so extensive and widespread that it will likely take days to remove it all. In some cases, such as on trees and certain building materials, remnants of the vandalism may remain for an extended period of time.

I am as disappointed as I am angry at these criminal acts of cowardice. These six or so individuals, who made their way across campus in the dead of night while fully disguised, chose to violate not just our policies and the law, but our sense of community. We do not yet know whether these individuals were Swarthmore students, but we are working to identify those responsible and will hold them accountable for their actions. If we find that students were part of the group that committed these acts, they will face immediate disciplinary action, including interim suspension.

I know that the ongoing violence in the Middle East continues to take an incalculable toll on members of our community, just as it does for individuals across the world. But the anger directed at the College is misplaced and ill-informed. While actions like those that occurred overnight may be designed to embarrass Swarthmore and generate views on social media, they serve no real productive purpose. They do not advance any cause or conversation.

I am also deeply disappointed by what these actions represent in the context of our mission. We are a richly diverse community, with a wide spectrum of experiences and perspectives; that is among our greatest attributes and helps make this a special place to live, learn, and work. But we are all brought here by our common belief in the power of a liberal arts education. At some point in our individual journeys to Swarthmore, we believed in talking with people whose views differ from our own, in intellectual curiosity and openness to new ideas, and in understanding that our own world views may evolve, shaped by our experiences at Swarthmore. Nothing about these acts of vandalism embraces the spirit of what it means to be a member of this community.

The vandalism places an extraordinary burden on our friends in EVS, Facilities, and Grounds, and I am grateful for all of the work they’re doing, and will continue to do, to clean up the campus. I am also inspired by those of you who have already offered to volunteer and help with the clean-up effort. It is a gesture that reminds me of the true spirit of Swarthmore, one that calls us to treat each other with care, compassion, and mutual respect. If you are interested in volunteering, you can email Work Box at workbox@swarthmore.edu, and someone will be in touch with you.

What happened overnight does not define who we are. The vandalism reflects the actions of a few people who chose destruction over engagement and anonymity over accountability. The Swarthmore community I know and of which I am proud to be a member is the one engaged in intellectual and creative pursuits in the classroom, lab, and studio. In pushing boundaries in performance spaces and on athletic fields. In contributing to a community dedicated to educating individuals prepared to build a better world around them. That work will continue today, tomorrow, and in the days, weeks, and years ahead.

Thank you for your grace, empathy, and understanding as we make our way through this challenging situation.

My best,

Val Smith
President

I’m not sure why the cops didn’t get them given that it was hgappening over half an hour.  Although she accurately states that the vandals were cowards, she doesn’t mention that the vandalism was pro-Palestinian, not pro-Israel.  They always leave out the ideology of the perpetrators when it’s Islamist.

*******************

And this email from Cornell’s President, who is Jewish, appeared on the schools University Statements page:

Harassment and intimidation incident at Day Hall

May 1, 2026

Dear Cornell Community,

Yesterday evening, I introduced an Israel-Palestine debate series event in Goldwin Smith Hall, hosted by the Cornell Political Union and co-sponsored by, among others, Cornell Progressives, Cornellians for Israel, and Students for Justice in Palestine. The debate was vigorous and civil, and an example of the kind of open discourse that we prize in our academic community.

As I left the event room, I was accosted by a group of several individuals in the hall, among them students and non-students. These individuals are known to Cornell for their past conduct, including a long history of ongoing verbal and online abuse toward numerous members of Cornell’s administration and staff, as well as disruptive protest resulting, in the case of two individuals, in bans from campus.

These individuals followed me from the event space and across campus, while loudly shouting questions and recording on their phones. After answering a few questions, I let them know that I was not planning to engage further, and asked them to stop recording.

Their response to this was, “No, we are not going to stop.” They continued to follow me to my car and then surrounded the car, banging on the windows, blocking the car, and shouting. I waited until I saw space behind the car and then, using my car’s rear pedestrian alert and automatic braking system, was able to slowly maneuver my car from the parking space and exit the parking lot.

As I said in my remarks yesterday, if democracy has a single, foundational skill, it is successful disagreement. A primary goal of a Cornell education is preparing our students to participate productively in civil society; to do this, they must be able to hear different voices, assimilate different perspectives, and build evidence-based understanding.

The behavior I experienced last night is not protest. It is harassment and intimidation, with the direct motive of silencing speech. It has no place in an academic community, no place in a democracy, and can have no place at Cornell.

Sincerely,

Michael I. Kotlikoff
President

When the obstructive students, who were of course pro-Palestinian, started banging on Kotlikoff’s car and blocking him, they were engaging in criminal activities. (Vandalism is also a crime.) Again, you don’t see pro-Israel students disrupting talks like this or engaging in vandalism. Why doesn’t anybody ever point that out? You tell me. Or rather, don’t bother—I already know.

I also know that if the students who break the rules while protesting aren’t punished—as they aren’t at my University—then they’ll keep breaking the rules. Why do these presidents think that simple announcements that “this behavior is bad” would do the trick?