According to a statement
posted on its own School of
Integrative Plant Science’s website, Cornell University perpetuates “settler
colonialism, indigenous dispossession, slavery, racism, classism, sexism,
transphobia, homophobia, antisemitism, and ableism.”
The statement appears to have been posted in March
2021 and is still up as of this writing. The School of Integrative Plant Science,
or SIPS, is a division of Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The statement is
thought to have been generated by the SIPS “Diversity and Inclusion Council,”
which was formed last October. The council also noted that it “recognizes that
our institution was founded on and perpetuates various injustices.” The
council’s vision statement reads: “We seek to address and repair the harms
caused by these intersecting forms of oppression.”
A few thoughts:
First, do we really now believe it’s a bad thing for a college or university
to promote “ableism?” If we aren’t sending kids to college to become competent
at something, why the hell are we sending them at all? What are we paying tens
of thousands of dollars a year in tuition for?
Secondly, does it
seem likely that the School of Integrative Plant Science is a hotbed of
systemic settler colonialism, indigenous dispossession, slavery, racism,
classism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, and antisemitism? How could that
even be? And does it need its own Diversity and Inclusion Council, separate
from Cornell’s? How many Diversity and Inclusion Councils does the school
sport?
Finally, is stating
that your school perpetuates settler colonialism, indigenous dispossession,
slavery, racism, classism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, and antisemitism an
effective recruiting tactic?
“Well, I was
undecided between Cornell and Iowa State, but now that I’ve seen what its School
of Integrative Plant Science says about it, I’m going to Cornell!”
Go Big Red!
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