TECH Signal 506
Cornell reverses pledge, tells pro-Palestine students abroad to return to US campus or lose funding
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Cornell University reversed its earlier commitment allowing two graduate students who fled the US amid ICE targeting to complete their studies abroad with funding, now requiring them to teach on campus in Ithaca this fall or lose their financial support.
This shows how institutional commitments to protect students can shift under government pressure, creating a precedent where universities may force students to choose between abandoning their studies or facing potential detention. For international students and researchers at US institutions, this signals that funding arrangements previously considered secure can be revoked when immigration enforcement targets individuals.
Written by elseif from the cluster below · every claim links back to a sourceThe three things worth knowing
Cornell previously told Momodou Taal and Amandla Thomas-Johnson they could finish degrees with funding abroad after they fled to Cairo amid ICE inquiries
The university now requires both students to teach on campus this fall or lose their funding, despite them believing they would be detained upon return to the US
Cornell has previously allowed other students with visa issues to continue studies abroad with funding, according to the graduate student union
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