On Friday afternoon, the Slope Day Programming Board announced that Gunna will be this year’s new Slope Day headliner following Kehlani’s cancellation on April 23.
The journey to Gunna as the headliner came after weeks of controversy. From the initial headliner announcement being unusually delayed to President Michael Kotlikoff rescinding Kehlani’s invitation, students have closely followed the developments of this unprecedented series of events.
After all the turmoil — and a bit of speculation that Slope Day would be cancelled altogether — students have expressed a variety of reactions to Kehlani’s invitation being rescinded and a new headliner being announced.
Some are happy just knowing the event was a go. While she didn’t know who Gunna was before he was announced as the headliner, Samantha Zeltser ’27 was happy that most students seemed pleased with the selection.
“Reading the comments on Sidechat and on the Instagram post … it seemed like most of the students were pretty happy,” she said. “It was nice … because I know that there were a lot of worries, like, ‘are they going to get someone new in time?’ and people were getting pretty upset.”
Others expressed similar relief that Slope Day was happening this year.
“For the past few weeks, the stress [of] finals [has] definitely been building up,” said Nandini Singh ’28. “I was really just relying on Slope Day to kind of bring me happiness during this last stretch.”
Students still expressed concern regarding the controversy that has surrounded Slope Day this semester, particularly about Kehlani’s views on Israel and the fact that she was initially selected. Zeltser was surprised that the SDPB would choose an artist with a history of controversial remarks on Israel for an event meant to bring the campus together.
“Slope Day is supposed to be a unifying event for the student community,” Zeltser said. “As a Jewish student, seeing comments from the artist that is headlining the event saying, ‘It's f*ck Israel,’ ‘f*ck Zionism’ … it feels like it’s creating a divide.”
Singh agreed that Kehlani’s invitation being rescinded was fair.
“I definitely thought this was a valid reason [to cancel Kehlani’s performance],” she said regarding Kehlani’s anti-Israel comments. “A big population [at Cornell] is Jewish, so I definitely expressed [that] sentiment and signed that petition to change the Slope Day [performer], because I truly think that was a big issue.”
After Kehlani was announced as the headliner, Cornellians For Israel launched a petition and GoFundMe calling her antisemitic and demanding her cancellation and replacement. The University rescinded her invitation, citing antisemitism and “hateful views,” which Kehlani strongly rejected on Instagram, clarifying that her criticism was aimed at the Israeli government’s actions, not Jewish people.
Other students were frustrated by the administration’s decision to revoke Kehlani’s invitation. Sam Poole ’28, a member of the Cornell Young Democratic Socialists of America and Cornell Jewish Voice for Peace, said, “Kehlani was scheduled to perform and, just a few weeks before Slope Day, was canceled abruptly, without any kind of democratic process for pro-Palestine views because a small, small portion of the Cornell community voiced their disapproval, and that overruled the democratic decision of the [SDPB].”
Poole is one of the organizers of the Community Slope Day event, which emerged as direct opposition to Kehlani’s performance being cancelled. This alternative event is a benefit raising money for pro-Palestine causes, according to their Instagram, and will feature local musical performers. At the time of publication, the pledge to attend has 141 signatures out of the 1,000 signature goal.
“We reject this censorship … and this top-down process from the administration, and so we’re going to do our own [Community Slope Day instead],” Poole said.
Amid the confusion and conflicting opinions, students noted the uncertainty leading up to Friday’s announcement.
“I remember getting emails about ‘Slope Day safety’ and wristband reservations when there was no artist, and I was also upset by that,” Singh said, referring to an email sent out to the Cornell community on Wednesday.
However, with Gunna now confirmed as Wednesday’s headliner, many students seem more optimistic about Slope Day. As a rapper with hit songs like “pushin P” and “Drip Too Hard,” Gunna has brought renewed excitement to campus, in addition to moving student attention away from the controversy Kehlani’s selection sparked.
“[Gunna’s] songs are catchy, and I think at the end of the day, that’s what everyone cares about: ‘Is the [performer] catchy?’” Singh said. “‘Can they bring this really fun vibe to Cornell?’ And I think he definitely can.”
