Cornell Police Mum on Claims of Student Protest Crackdown

Students associated with protest group Fight the Fee are claiming that the Cornell University Police Department (CUPD) is cracking down on student protest organizers.

A lengthy statement titled “Communique on Repression of Student Activism at Cornell University” on Fight the Fee’s website claims CUPD criminal investigators have called several well-known members of Cornell’s protest community in for questioning, have threatened at least one with arrest and felony charges, and have subpoenaed for Save the Pass’s email list.

The student who Fight the Fee claims was threatened with arrest and a minimum 3-year felony charge is most likely Daniel Waid Marshall ’15, a well-known protest organizer. Fight the Fee’s statement does not name him specifically, but the website links to a piece he published in the Cornell Daily Sun about opposing the Board of Trustees. According to the statement, CUPD said it has DNA evidence linking Marshall to unspecified crimes committed on the morning of the “Let Us In” trustee protests.

CUPD Police Chief Kathy Zoner declined to comment or clarify on these matters, writing in an email to the Review, “We don’t comment on active investigations.”

Update 4/29: Zoner has released a statement:

“Several allegations have been made regarding a current investigation by the Cornell University Police Department and its interactions with students.

“The two students interviewed by CUPD were asked to meet with us. They scheduled appointments to speak with an officer and were free to leave at any time. As in any instance where an officer speaks with an individual regarding a criminal investigation, if that person were inclined to bring an advisor or attorney, that advisor or attorney would be permitted to attend the interview.

“It is my expectation that my staff will use their training and knowledge to conduct investigations in a professional manner.  Currently, no complaints have been filed regarding the officer’s conduct in this investigation and I encourage anyone who has concerns about the manner in which they were treated during any contact with the Cornell Police to utilize the formal review procedure that has long been in place.

“The Cornell University Police Department was asked  to conduct a criminal investigation into alleged felonious behavior. This investigation does not relate to the conduct of students in the Office of the President on Feb. 9, 2015, nor on March 26, 2015, outside the Board of Trustee meetings — or inside the open session — at the Statler Amphitheater.”

A student on the Facebook group “Overheard at Cornell” uploaded the screenshot of an email he purportedly received from Facebook’s Law Enforcement Response Team indicating law enforcement officials have requested information about his Facebook profile.

A request for comment and clarification regarding CUPD’s actions and the University’s official stance on these matters has been delivered to Joel Malina, Vice President of University Relations.