Cornell University does not care about you.
No matter what work you do for the University, how high your grades are or how much you sacrifice to pay that tuition bill, the leaders of this institution do not care about us. They don’t care about their students, their workers or the people of Ithaca. They only care about lining their pockets, propping up a façade of progressivism and appeasing their billionaire trustees. But now, it’s finally time to cut the crap. Our workers, with a strong mandate from the national UAW and workers across the country, are not standing for it any longer.
Right now, 75-80 percent of Cornell workers earn well below a living wage. 70-75 percent can’t even afford to live in the same county as this University, let alone in Ithaca. They’re being pushed out, forced to leave their homes as Cornell’s gentrification machine keeps on churning. While Cornell’s endowment has soared by 39 percent, and tuition has increased by 13 percent, workers’ buying power has fallen by five percent. I feel ashamed to be part of this institution, to be giving them my money, and you should too.
The demands these workers are making are not radical. They want an end to exploitative tiered employment systems. They want basic workplace safety. They want wages that keep pace with inflation, let alone the cost of living. They just want to live with dignity, to do their jobs without fearing for their safety, to not starve while serving us every day.
This administration does not care about us. According to data from the Cornell Undergraduate Experience survey, 26 percent of our students often or very often don’t have enough to eat. That’s one in four of us going hungry at a university with a ten billion dollar endowment. And what did Cornell do about it? Instead of addressing this crisis, they removed the question from their next survey. Ignoring our hunger doesn’t make it disappear, but that’s how this administration operates — if they can’t see it, it doesn’t exist. Our underfunded TCAT system has been forced to overwork drivers and slash routes that most of us rely on. All the while, this University lines the pockets of administrators who live very different lives than the realities most of us face every day. In 2022, the compensation for top administrators exceeded $12.4 million.
But we all have stories about the janitors, the dining hall attendants, the staff who have been there for us. Those who also lived or spent time in Risley Hall probably know Garry, the card swiper who learns everyone’s name, who asks how our rehearsals and exams went, who made us feel seen in a strange new place.
Cornell would be nothing without our workers — the ones who pour your coffee, clean your bathrooms, teach you, serve food in the dining halls, run the front desks; first responders, sanitation workers, our grad students. They care for you. And this time, they will no longer be sidelined and silenced into submission. They are the beating heart of this institution, and yet the University treats them like they’re expendable.
It’s time to stand for those who actually do care for us, day in and day out. Cornell’s wealth is built on the backs of these workers, the same people they try to push out of sight and out of mind. But we won’t let that happen. We have the power to change this, as long as we act now. Don’t walk past these workers and pretend they don’t exist. They care more about us than Cornell ever will. They just want to be able to live and work in this city, to do their jobs without injury or exhaustion and to not go hungry while they’re feeding us. These are our people, our true community and it’s time we show them the respect they deserve.
Cornell doesn’t care about us. But we can, and we must, care for each other. Let’s stand together, fight together and demand the justice and dignity that every member of our community deserves. This is our fight, and we’re going to win.
So here’s my challenge to you: Don’t just talk about it — be about it. Show up. Stand up. Speak out. Whether it’s on the picket line, in the classroom, with your friends or in The Sun, make your voice heard. Let everybody know that we’re not backing down, that we’re not going away, that we’re here to fight — and that we’re going to win.
Until then, here are some options for students seeking alternate meal arrangements:
The Cornell Food Pantry provides free food and supplies for all students, and you can find a warm meal at Loaves & Fishes on weekdays. The Ithaca Dump and Run is a great place to find non-perishable foods and other essential goods, and it’s open until Aug. 25. Other resources can be found at the Friendship Donation Network, and please do not hesitate to reach out to me any time at [email protected] for further support, whether it be needing resources, legal support or any other form of strike support.
Tiffany Chen Kumar is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She serves on the Ithaca Common Council as the Alderperson of Ward 4 (Collegetown and most of campus) and the city’s labor liaison, and she sits on the Cornell-City working group.
The Sun is interested in publishing a broad and diverse set of content from the Cornell and greater Ithaca community. We want to hear what you have to say about this topic or any of our pieces. Here are some guidelines on how to submit. And here’s our email: [email protected].