The Board of Trustees’ Ad Hoc Special Committee completed its investigation of the incident between President Michael Kotlikoff and a group of students and alumni on April 30, clearing Kotlikoff of wrongdoing and finding the actions taken by the students to be "inconsistent with University policy,” according to a statement sent to the Cornell community by the committee on Friday morning.
Students and alumni followed Kotlikoff to his car and surrounded it, asking about free expression on campus following a debate on the Israel-Palestine conflict, hosted by the Cornell Political Union. Video footage obtained by The Sun shows that Kotlikoff reversed into one student and ran over the foot of a recent alumnus after they blocked his car.
“The Committee has found that the actions taken by these individuals on April 30th, which included following President Kotlikoff from an evening event into a parking lot and impeding his ability to leave, are inconsistent with university policies governing expressive activity and our standards for respectful conduct, safety, and the prohibition of intimidation,” the committee wrote.
Following the Ad Hoc Committee’s email, Kotlikoff released a statement to the Cornell community, stating that he did not initially realize he hit anyone with his car and explaining why he declined to pursue action against the group involved in the incident.
The committee noted that during its review process, announced on May 7, it considered evidence from the Cornell University Police Department, including “information gathered at the scene of the incident, verified video footage, and a sworn statement provided by President Kotlikoff.”
According to the Board’s email, the individuals at the incident “refused medical treatment” from emergency medical services and refused to give a sworn statement about the incident to CUPD, who made “repeated attempts” to collect a statement from the students.
In an email statement to The Sun on behalf of “students involved,” Students for a Democratic Cornell refuted the Board’s statement, noting that Aiden Vallecillo ’25, the alumnus whose foot appeared to be run over, “was fully evaluated” by a Cornell EMS team.
“The Trustees released this false information without Vallecillo’s consent, and he has never publicly indicated that he ‘refused medical treatment,’” SDC wrote to The Sun. “It is unclear how the Trustees obtained this information.”
In an interview with The Sun, Vallecillo stated that the University’s claims were “absolutely false” and that he did receive treatment from EMS. He also said that he was concerned about how the Board of Trustees obtained the “private medical information about a student.”
“I have no idea how they got access to that or why they felt it appropriate to include it in an email to the entire University,” Vallecillo said.
SDC also expressed concerns about the investigation being conducted by the Board of Trustees and CUPD, given Kotlikoff’s ties to the two organizations, stating that this concern is why the students refused to give statements to CUPD.
The Ad Hoc Committee stated that CUPD’s investigation was completed “without any bias” and that to ensure independence, it collaborated with the Tompkins County District Attorney’s office, who determined “no criminal charges were warranted” against any individuals at the incident.
“We had no faith in CUPD’s ability to conduct an independent investigation as an arm of the administration which has actively engaged in the repression of student protest, and were concerned that information provided to CUPD could be used against us by the University in disciplinary proceedings,” SDC wrote in an email statement to The Sun.
SDC stated it reached out to the Ithaca Police Department to administer a police investigation, which was denied unless CUPD “ceded its jurisdiction.”
SDC stated that the students and alumni involved in the incident were “never contacted by the Board’s Committee or any independent investigator,” and noted that Kotlikoff’s initial public statement about the incident “falsely” accused students of banging on his car windows.
Vallecillo seconded the accusations about students banging on the car windows and noted that the footage of the encounter does not show anyone banging on the car.
The Ad Hoc committee also stated that Kotlikoff did not pursue a complaint against the students involved, and that “appropriate action” is being taken against the non-students involved. Milton Taam ’73, who was present at the incident, received a persona non grata from CUPD, banning him from campus for the next three years.
Kotlikoff explained his decision to not pursue action against the students in his statement.
“This decision is not a reflection of the seriousness of their behavior, but a consideration of the realities of our code processes: the public hearings required by the code would grant these students even more of the attention they have been seeking,” Kotlikoff wrote in a separate statement to the Cornell community. “It would, in effect, reward the behavior and further divide our campus community, and this I will not do.”
For Vallecillo, Kotlikoff’s statement “only proves that they would have intended” to suspend the students involved had they not “raised the issue to the wider Cornell community.” Vallecillo also said that Kotlikoff’s trial “contrasts very strongly” with how student trials are held.
“Students are not allowed to have their witnesses called in, students are suspended immediately before any investigation ever begins,” Vallecillo said. “However, when it comes to administrators, the same standard does not apply.”
The Board ended the statement by emphasizing the importance of “robust debate and peaceful protest” on campus and affirming Kotlikoff’s “steadfast commitment” to Cornell’s mission.
“Over the course of his decades-long tenure at Cornell, President Kotlikoff has conveyed his strong belief that with freedom, particularly freedom of speech, comes responsibility,” the committee wrote. “We urge our community to foster and uphold an environment where we allow for debate and dissent practiced with civility, respect, and accountability.”
Zeinab Faraj is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences and a senior editor on the 144th Editorial Board. She was a features editor and assistant sports editor on the 143rd Editorial Board and can be reached at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
