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Cornell University

Office of the Assemblies

Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Meeting

Monday, November 18, 2024

  • Term:
    2024-2025
  • Assembly/Committee: Graduate and Professional Student Assembly
  • Date & Time:
    Mon, Nov 18, 2024 - 5:00pm
    to
    6:30pm
  • Location:
    401 Physical Sciences Building/Zoom
  • Agenda:
  • Meeting Packet:
  • Audio Recording:
  • Minutes: No minutes available

Associated Resolutions

Resolution Abstract Status
GPSA R4 (2024-2025): GPSA R4: Recommendations Regarding the CCEA Expressive Activity Policy Draft Abstract: This resolution formalizes the GPSA’s response to the CCEA regarding the Expressive Activity Policy draft released to the Cornell Community on October 30th, 2024.

Sponsored by: Nicholas J. Brennan, Executive Vice President,
Camron Luke Chappel, Social Sciences Representative,
Mohamed Z El-Walid,
Irene Gatimi, Master of Public Administration Representative,
Marguerite Pacheco,
Srinica Hampi, Student Advocacy Committee Chair,
Reviewed by Student Advocacy Committee 11/26/2024
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Whereas: The Cornell Committee on Expressive Activity [CCEA] was charged by former University President Martha Pollack with recommending changes to the University’s existing policies governing expressive activity in 2023.

Whereas: On October 30th, 2024, the CCEA reported to the Cornell community with a draft policy requesting feedback by December 9th, 2024 in order to finalize its recommendations in line with the University’s policy review process.

Whereas: The GPSA Student Advocacy Committee has held three meetings on the topic of the Expressive Activity Policy draft since the Policy’s release to formalize the GPSA’s response to the draft policy on behalf of the graduate student community.

Whereas: members from the Cornell Graduate Student Union (CGSU) have been included and involved in contributing to the GPSA’s formalized response to the expressive activity policy draft.

Be it therefore resolved: The Statement on the Draft Expressive Activity Policy be adopted by the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly.

Be it therefore resolved: The GPSA recommends an expansion of graduate and undergraduate student representation on the CCEA beyond 5 of 19 committee seats.

Be it finally resolved: The Graduate and Professional Student assembly disapproves the Expressive Activity Policy October 30th, 2024 draft.

Respectfully Submitted,
Camron Luke Chappel - Social Sciences Representative
Mohamed Z El-Walid
Irene Gatimi – Master of Public Administration Representative
Marguerite Pacheco
Srinica Hampi – Student Advocacy Committee Chair
Nicholas J. Brennan – Executive Vice President
 Submitted to the President
GPSA R5 (2024-2025): GPSA R5: GPSA Recommendations on Cornell University's Disciplinary Actions Towards Graduate Student Worker Sriram Parasurama The Graduate and Professional Student Assembly recommends halting disciplinary measures against Graduate Student Worker Sriram Parasurama until due disciplinary procedures have been completed.

Sponsored by:
Siim Sepp, Biological Sciences Representative Voting Member ;
Srikanth Karaikal, Physical Sciences Voting Member:
Zong-Yan Liu, Biological Sciences Voting Member;
Dinesh Ghimire, Biological Sciences Voting Member

Reviewed by: Executive Committee, 11/17/2024; Student Advocacy Committee 11/15/2024

Whereas, the Graduate Student Worker Sriram Parasurama was temporarily suspended on October 16th, 2024 and de-enrolled on Wednesday November 6th, 2024 affecting his monthly pay and status as an NSF Fellow, on the grounds of participation in a disruption of the presence of L3Harris Technologies and Boeing in the Career Fair carried out in Statler Hall on September 18th, 2024;

Whereas, evidence for the claim that graduate student worker Sriram Parasurama constitutes a “danger to public health and safety” has not been made available to the student in question, yet used by the Administration to justify his temporary suspension;

Whereas, the Student Code of Conduct Procedures in Chapter VIII Title A states that a temporary suspension may be imposed only when available less restrictive measures are reasonably deemed insufficient to protect the Complainant or the University community;

Whereas, all appeals presented by the student in question to both Vice-President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi and the interim Provost John Siciliano along with support letters with 101 signatures from members of the School of Integrative Plant Science have been rejected as of November 6th, 2024;

Whereas, the above described events reflect no engagement in due process or just cause by the University Administration before application of disciplinary measures;

Whereas, the School of Integrated Plant Sciences (SIPS) has created a letter that approximately a hundred members of SIPS community have signed stating community concern over this case with the request of halting disciplinary measures on Sriram until a full investigation and hearing are completed. For a copy of this see appendix 2.

Whereas, the content of the protest Sriram engaged in is especially relevant to the interests of the Cornell Graduate and professional student body;

Whereas, Resolution 7 from 04/22/2024 establishes the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly’s (GPSA) duty to engage in items of importance to the graduate and professional student body, and that the University and its investments are of interest to the student body;

Whereas, Resolution 1 from 09/05/2024 opened the GPSA to officially appoint at least one permanent representative to the Ad Hoc Committee on Cornell University's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies created by the undergraduate Student Assembly, showing a commitment from the graduate and professional student body;

Whereas, Resolution 8 from 05/06/2024 on ESG recommendations on discussion of divestment from companies engaged in weapon manufacturing resolved to recommend that the University Administration, the Trustees, and the CSR-ESG Committee engage in immediate (Summer 2024) and formal discussions centered on the issue of divestment from the companies BAE Systems, Boeing, Elbit Systems, General Dynamics, L3Harris Technologies, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX, and ThyssenKrupp engaged in weapons manufacturing;

Whereas, the report A/79/363 of the United Nations Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, concluded that the policies and practices of Israel during the reporting period of October 2023 to July 2024 were consistent with the characteristics of genocide and raised serious concerns of breaches of international humanitarian and human rights laws in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including starvation as a weapon of war;

Whereas, the Standard and Process for Board of Trustees Consideration of Divestment Recommendations adopted on January 29th, 2016 by the Cornell University Board of Trustees state that Divestment should be considered only when a company’s actions or inactions are “morally reprehensible” (morally reprehensible activities include apartheid, genocide, human trafficking, slavery, and systemic cruelty to children, including violations of child labor laws);

Whereas, L3Harris Technologies components are integrated into multiple weapon systems used by the Israeli military, including Israel’s air-to-ground bombs as well as its main warplanes, battle tanks, and warships;

Whereas, Boeing manufactures attack helicopters, combat aircraft, missiles, bombs and battlefield laser systems for the Israeli army, as well as intelligence and surveillance systems that are used to surveil Palestinian civilians in Occupied Palestine;

Whereas, the Student Assembly Referendum (see summary as appendix 1) showed a majority (4,960/7,153 votes) in support of the following question: “Cornell has investments in companies supporting the ongoing war in Gaza, which has been deemed as a “plausible genocide” by the International Court of Justice in South Africa v. Israel. Should Cornell University follow their 2016 Guidelines for Divestment and divest from the following weapons manufacturers: BAE Systems, Boeing, Elbit Systems, General Dynamics, L3Harris Technologies, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX, and ThyssenKrupp?”;

Whereas, the response to Resolution 8 from president Martha E. Pollack on June 4th, 2024 reiterated her response to the Student Assembly President on May 30, 2024 on the Student Assembly Referendum and an email to Owen ‘Gus’ Dunn-Hindle and CSR-ESG on June 4, 2024. This response states, “Fund managers are independent third-party vehicles. The managers make independent decisions about specific investments. They serve many investors, not only Cornell, and the funds are typically comingled with those of other large institutional investors. In hiring these managers, the university is contractually prohibited from sharing information about a manager’s portfolio of investments, because such information is proprietary and confidential to the fund manager. We are therefore unable to provide the information that you requested in your letter.” For a copy of this response see appendix 2.

Be it therefore resolved, we recommend that the University Administration halt all disciplinary measures until the evidence used is disclosed to the disciplined student Sriram Parasurama and a thorough, transparent investigation and hearing process are conducted as required by the Student Code of Conduct.

Be it finally resolved, we recommend that the University Administration clearly articulate and comply with a due process in fulfillment of the Student Code of Conduct for this and all future disciplinary measures.

Respectfully Submitted,
Siim Sepp, Biological Sciences Voting Member
Srikanth Karaikal, Physical Sciences Voting Member
Zong-Yan Liu, Biological Sciences Voting Member
Dinesh Ghimire, Biological Sciences Voting Member
 Submitted to the President