INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 141, No. 29
16 Pages – Free
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2025 n
Sunset
Arts
With this issue, The Sun suspends print publication for the summer. Please visit cornellsun.com periodically until The Sun returns to print in the fall.
Cornell Batman
The Sun interviewed Cornell Batman, who has made himself a quintessential part of campus. | Page 14
Gunna Replaces Kehlani as Slope Day Headliner By GABRIEL MUÑOZ Sun City Editor
May 2 — The Slope Day Programming Board announced Gunna as the headliner for Slope Day on Friday morning, nine days after President Michael Kotlikoff rescinded Kehlani’s invitation on April 23. Slope Day, the annual concert held on Libe Slope at the end of the academic year, is financed by the Student Activity Funding Commission — a body responsible for allocating a
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Gotta go Gunna | Gunna will be performing at Libe Slope on Wednesday.
portion of the undergraduate student activity fee, which all students pay to the University. Gunna, the four-time Grammy nominated hip hop artist with songs like “Lemonade,” “f*kumean” and “Drip Too Hard,” will be headlining the performance. Previously collaborating with artists like Doja Cat, Travis Scott and Drake, Gunna has topped the Billboard 200 charts twice with his albums “DS4EVER” and “Wunna.” Gunna, whose government name is Sergio Kitchens, was arrested in 2022 for racketeering on accusations that he was collaborating with the Young Slime criminal gang. He pleaded guilty to the charges in December 2022. The Student Assembly previously invited Gunna to attend Slope Day as an emcee in 2022 to accompany headlining artist Aminé. The supporting performer will be Louis The Child, known for their songs “It’s Strange,” “Slow Down Love” and “Better Not.” Other performers include student band Lucky Strike and student DJs Two (Asian) Friends and FREQ. The replacement follows student and parent dissatisfaction over Kehlani’s anti-Israel sentiments on her social media. In an email statement to the Cornell community, President Michael Kotlikoff wrote, “I have heard grave concerns from our community that many are angry, hurt, and
Local Activists Organize ‘Community Slope Day’
By MAX TROIANO Sun Senior Writer
May 7 — Cornellians will be able to choose between not one but two Slope Days — the official University music festival and the grassroots Community Slope Day, organized by local activists in response to the University rescinding Kehlani’s headliner invitation. The Community Slope Day music festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, entirely overlapping with Cornell’s Slope Day. It will take place at Stone Bend Farm in Newfield, New York, an approximately 20-minute drive away from campus. Following the April 10 announcement of Kehlani as the original Slope Day headliner, some students and parents criticized the artist’s anti-Israel rhetoric and social media presence. Cornellians for Israel also launched a petition against the selection of Kehlani as the Slope Day headliner that accumulated over 5,000 signatures. Cornell revoked Kehlani’s invitation to headline Slope Day over what President Michael Kotlikoff labeled “antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments.” But the cancellation sparked criticism from student groups about freedom of speech and institutional neutrality. The Community Slope Day Instagram account urged students to “boycott Slope Day,” writing that Kehlani’s “opposition to the
genocide in Palestine isn’t hateful” and that the decision was made “without representative input of the student body.” Community Slope Day organizer Elliot Walsh ’24 M.S. ’24 said that leaders of the event expect a turnout of approximately 500 people. The festival is free and open to all Ithacans, and free Lyft rides will be provided, organizers said. The University’s Slope Day limits admission to Cornellians, offering free admission to Cornell undergraduates, while faculty, staff, graduate students and alumni can buy tickets for $55 to $75. “Community Slope Day is grounded in a much more expansive vision of what community is,” Walsh said. “It’s not just the Cornell community. … We see the residents of Ithaca and of surrounding towns, we see Ithaca College students as being community members on equal footing, and we want to take this opportunity to open up the event to whoever will come.” Through Community Slope Day, Walsh said he hoped to create a space for all members of the Ithaca community to celebrate the end of the school year without participating in Cornell’s festival, which he saw as “repressive.” To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun. Max Troiano can be reached at mtroiano@cornellsun.com.
confused that Slope Day would feature a performer who has espoused antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments in performances, videos, and on social media.” In a video posted to X expressing her discontent with other music industry members for not speaking out in favor of Palestine, Kehlani said, “It’s f*ck Israel, it’s f*ck Zionism and it’s also f*ck a lot of y’all too.” Kehlani’s beliefs also appear in her performances. Her “Next 2 U” music video — which was released in June 2024 — begins with the message “Long Live the Intifada,” in addition to featuring dancers in keffiyehs waving Palestinian flags. The word intifada is often associated with two Palestinian uprisings. A week after Kehlani’s announcement as headliner, at an April 17 Student Assembly meeting, Kotlikoff criticized the choice of the outspokenly anti-Israel performer but stated that “it’s too late to secure another performer.” To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com. Gabriel Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@cornellsun.com.
THE CORNELL DAILY SUN GUIDE TO SLOPE DAY 2025 !appy " lope#ay! As per recent tradition, Slope Day will be held the day after classes end to celebrate the end of the academic year. Free Breakfast
Free breakfast will be served in front of Schwartz Center from 7:30 - 10:30 a.m. Food Tickets
If you have not already prepurchased food and drink tickets, you can buy food tickets in the Willard Straight Hall parking lot and on Ho Plaza using BRBs, MealChoice, CornellCard or credit cards.
Pick Up Your Wristband Arts Quad Tent: 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. with your Cornell ID
Music
Student DJs Two (Asian) Friends and FREQ will perform. Louis the Child will open the concert, followed by Gunna.
The Sun Sits Down with Kotlikoff, Bala
Administrators discussed funding, Slope Day controversy By MATTHEW KIVIAT, DOROTHY FRANCE-MILLER and JULIA SENZON Sun Managing Editor, Assistant Managing Editor and Editor-in-Chief
May 7 — President Michael Kotlikoff and Provost Kavita Bala are just settling into their new roles as President and Provost. The Sun sat down with the two top administrators on Friday, May 2, to discuss their vision for the University amid the federal funding freeze, information about the Slope Day headliner controversy and uncertainty about Student Exchange Visitor Information System Records and visas being revoked.
Below is the transcript of The Sun’s wide-ranging, exclusive interview with Kotlikoff and Bala. The transcript has been lightly edited, condensed for clarity and sorted thematically. Coming Into the Role The Sun: When you previously spoke to us last semester, you said that upon finishing your two-year term as interim president, you would almost certainly retire. You also said that the next president would most likely be an external candidate, and one who’s not as familiar with Cornell. So with that being said, what led to you becoming Cornell’s 15th President?
Kotlikoff: Well, I think my concern is that the University is facing substantial challenges. I do believe [in] Cornell’s history that usually Presidents are external [choices]. And given the challenges that the University faces at this time, transition would be very difficult for a new person coming in and didn’t know Cornell. It often takes a substantial period of transition for that individual to get to know the University, understand the unique attributes of the University.
See INTERVIEW page 5