Why did Cornell University cancel its Friday classes? Upstate college excused students and staff for 'restorative time'

Cornell University, the private Ivy League institution based in Ithaca, New York, had canceled classes for Friday, November 3, 2023, following the arrest of a student charged with making violent antisemitic threats. The break is for students' and faculty's time to rest and reflect and to calm campus tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.

Lindsey Knewstub, a university spokeswoman, said in an email that,

"The hope for tomorrow is that everyone will use this as a restorative time to take care of themselves."

Disclaimer: The article mentions antisemitism and s*xual assault threats.

A 21-year-old engineering student named Patrick Dai was arrested on Tuesday, October 31, by the federal authorities for “posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications,” the US Attorney’s Office for New York’s Northern District announced. Dai had also allegedly posted that he wanted to “bring an assault rifle to campus,” as per the New York Post.

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Cornell University cancels Friday classes after arrest of student over antisemitic threats

Cornell University canceled all classes on Friday after Patrick Dai, a 21-year-old computer science major, allegedly threatened violence against his fellow Jewish students. He appeared in federal court Wednesday, November 1, on charges of posting threats online to kill or injure others.

Cornell University President Martha E. Pollack said in a letter to the school community on the same day that,

“While we take some measure of relief in knowing that the alleged author of the vile antisemitic posts that threatened our Jewish community is in custody, it was disturbing to learn that he was a Cornell student.”

According to the indictment, Dai had allegedly posted a series of threats to an internet message board with usernames like “Hamas fighter,” “glorious Hamas,” and “jew evil,” intended for fraternities and sororities. He is facing a maximum prison term of five years and a fine of up to $250,000 if he gets convicted, as per the New York Times.

The Cornell University student had made a lot of posts at the forum where he allegedly threatened to slit the throats of Jewish people and referred to them as "rats" and "pigs," as per the federal complaint made by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, The New York Post reported.

The court documents also stated that the Cornell University Student, Dai, threatened to “r*pe and kill all the Jew women before they birth more Jewish Hitlers.” Using the screen name “Hamas,” he was also accused of posting that he would “bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot,” as per the media outlet.

One specific post stated that he had allegedly threatened to bring a gun to the school and “shoot up 104 West,” which is a kosher and multicultural dining room on the Cornell University campus, next to a Center for Jewish Living. According to The New York Times, Rabbi Ari Weiss, the executive director of Cornell Hillel, a Jewish group on campus, had said,

"We hear that as a call for our genocide. Students are scared. They’re concerned for their safety."

After being arrested on Tuesday, Dai allegedly admitted to posting the threats, according to a criminal complaint.

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Patrick Dai appeared in court after the arrest

The Cornell University student, Dai, appeared in a Syracuse courtroom on November 1, wearing an orange jail outfit and with his wrists cuffed. He responded, “Yes, your honor,” several times after being asked questions by the judge and did not enter a plea. Throughout court proceedings that took about ten minutes, Dai remained straight-faced. His mother sat in the second row, as reported by CNN.

Patrick Dai is scheduled to return to court on November 15, 2023, and his attorney, Gabrielle DiBella, declined to comment on the case. The prosecution asked the court to detain Dai based on the risk of danger and risk of flight, as per the media outlet.

DiBella waived her client’s right to a timely detention hearing, and he was subsequently remanded back into the custody of the US marshals.