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Faculty Protest Interim Policy Outside Day Hall
By ISKANDER KHAN Sun Staff Writer
ANTHONY CORRALES / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Runway Ryan | Vice President Ryan Lombardi takes the CFC stage in dystopian dresswear, an original Cardinal Robinson ’24 look.
Lombardi Rocks the Runway at Cornell Fashion Collective Show By CAROLINE MICHAILOFF Sun Staff Writer
The 2024 Cornell Fashion Collective Runway Show featured Ryan Lombardi, vice president for student and campus life, sporting Cardinal Robinson’s ’24 design as part of his “Cities Unseen” collection. “It's my final show. It's my senior thesis. I wanted to come out, go out with a splash to some degree.” Robinson said. “Who could be like the biggest Cornell celebrity that I could dress? … The immediate thought is Lombardi — everybody loves him. He's by the students for the students. He's really a man of the people.” Robinson convinced Lombardi to model for him in the show when he found him eating his daily burrito at Terrace. “He walks by, and I'm like, ‘wow, his walk is great, he could really be a model’ … so I ran after him,”
Robinson said. “I was like, ‘would you consider modeling for me in the fashion show,’ and truthfully, he really didn't seem that interested when I first brought it up. But he was open to it.” Robinson’s “Cities Unseen” collection was inspired by his experience growing up outside Boston. Lombardi sported a look that featured front draping with an overdyed silk piano shawl and a flatbed strap pulled from the Zakim Bridge in Boston. In the collection, Robinson imagined New York City in 2050, and he instructed models to reflect their outfits in how they walk the runway. Lombardi donned a dystopian-inspired, military-style politician jacket. Because of his stature, age and position as the final model of the show, Lombardi acted as king of Cardinal’s futuristic city, with additional overdyed drapery to display his royalty. See FASHION page 3
Scores of faculty members, staff and students gathered in front of Day Hall on Tuesday to scold the Cornell administration for its Interim Expressive Activity Policy. Announced on Jan. 24, the interim policy, which enacted limits on the time, manner and place of campus protests, has faced fierce criticism from students and faculty alike. Tuesday’s demonstration fell just a day after the University relaxed policies regarding event registration, the use of open flames and postering. The administration also stated that the final policy would be decided after consulting faculty, students and staff. Prof. Alexander Livingston, government, speaking to the crowd of nearly 200, described the protest as an act of open defiance towards the “sloppy and mistaken” interim policies. Prof. Shannon Gleeson, industrial and labor relations, emphasized in her speech that academics face the consequences of administrative actions as employees of Cornell. “Those here with tenure have a special responsibility to speak out,” Gleeson said. “We are doing what I study [in ILR]. … I want to remind everyone that we are scholars — faculty and grads — but we are also workers. These are our bosses, not only our colleagues and deans and provosts and presidents.” As passing cars honked in support, fliers were handed out calling for faculty to speak out at Wednesday’s Faculty Senate meeting and encouraging departmental statements opposing the interim policy. To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com. Iskander Khan can be reached at ikhan@cornellsun.com.
Donica Varner Speaks About Interim Expressive Policy
By SOFIA RUBINSON Sun Senior Reporter
The University’s Interim Expressive Activity Policy continues to stir up strong emotions across campus, with a faculty and staff protest on Tuesday over several provisions still present after revisions to the policy were released Monday afternoon. But the formation of this policy and how a final version of the policy will look have yet to be made clear. To better understand the process through which this policy was created and the next steps in the revision process, The Sun spoke with Vice President and General Counsel Donica Varner, who assesses the legal implications of the policy and how it pertains to Cornell’s values. The initial version of the Interim Expressive Activity Policy was released
on Jan. 24, sparking some condemnation by students and faculty over provisions that they feel impede on free expression. In her announcement of the policy, President Martha Pollack stated that “work on these policies began in Spring 2023, in the lead-up to our freedom of expression theme year, and last semester underscored the importance of such policies.” Varner said that by January 2023, there was a draft interim policy that was brought to the desks of top administrators. But she said that the need for an expressive activity policy became apparent as early as December 2020, when the Board of Trustees adopted a new Student Code of Conduct in replacement of the Campus Code of Conduct. COURTESTY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY
See VARNER page 4
Varner's view | The Sun spoke with Donica Varner on Cornell's Interim Expressive Activity Policies.