Conservative Columnist for Cornell Newspaper Personally Attacked in Anonymously Distributed Flyers
Update: The Cornell Review is now in possession of 15 of these flyers (see end of article for pictures). Members of the Review found all fifteen in Olin Library scattered throughout several floors. Friday, Sep. 19, 12:21 am.
In several locations across campus, students have reported finding anonymously distributed and written flyers personally attacking a conservative columnist for Cornell’s student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun.
The flyers describe the conservative student writers as a “Racist Rape Apologist” and include his name and picture.
The student in the flyers, Julius Kairey, is a senior who writes a bi-weekly column called “Always Right,” and is the Sun’s only vocal conservative on staff. Kairey is unaffiliated with The Cornell Review.
The picture above was taken from a screenshot of the public Facebook group “Overheard at Cornell,” which normally features humorous quotes or conversations allegedly heard on campus. The student who uploaded the picture did so at about midday Thursday and told The Cornell Review that he saw about seven of the posters scattered on a sidewalk in Cornell’s North Campus, where all freshman housing is located.
The student also said he picked up and threw away all the copies he could find. By the time a Review member and the student checked the trash can, the original trash bag had already been dumped out.
Currently the Review cannot ascertain who is responsible for the distribution of these flyers and does not have possession of any physical copies.
Later in the day, the Review became privy to the existence of more flyers located throughout Olin Library in Cornell’s Central Campus. In total, fifteen were collected.
The flyers’ description is most likely a reference to common criticism of Kairey’s recent articles, notably “The Truth About ‘Rape Culture’,” “Islamophobia and Racism,” and most recently “Should California Redefine Campus Sexual Assault?”
Kairey’s articles are often met with calls for his censorship via removal from the Sun’s staff. After he published his article on Islamophobia, the calls were so strident and widespread the Review submitted a Letter to the Editor to the Sun asking critics to respect free speech and open debate.
The Cornell Review is currently in contact with several of Cornell’s administrative offices gathering information about the university’s response to this act and whether it qualifies as libel and/or personal harassment. Kairey reported to the Review that he prefers not comment on the situation right now.
If anyone has more information about who was behind the distribution of these flyers, please reach out to The Cornell Review at cornellreview@cornell.edu. If you wish to remain anonymous, the Review will respect your anonymity.
