‘We Do Not Feel Safe’: Black Cornell Students Demand Termination of Faculty Member Who Said University Would Allow the KKK On Campus If They Wanted to, Sparking Outrage

Cornell University‘s Vice President of University Relations is under fire from a Black student alliance that says his unequivocal defense of free speech has endangered their safety. Speaking to more than 200 Jewish parents of Cornell students via a videoconference on Sept. 30, Joel Malina was asked by the event’s moderator, Hillel Executive Director Rabbi Ari Weiss, if the university would allow a Ku Klux Klan member to appear on campus. “If there were a faculty member that invited a KKK representative to speak or a student group that invited a KKK representative to speak, yes, we would allow that,” said Malina, who was meeting with the parents concerned about the university’s handling of pro-Palestinian protesters. A Cornell University student plays frisbee in a quad on campus on November 3, 2023, in Ithaca, New York. The university canceled classes after one of its students is accused of making violent antisemitic threats. (Photo by Matt Burkhartt/Getty Images) The hypothetical was consistent with a theme pushed by administrators throughout the meeting: As long as it doesn’t descend into targeted harassment, the university will not punish or prevent offensive speech, according to the Cornell Daily Sun. One could argue that targeting Black people...