ITHACA, NEW YORK – A Cornell University professor who has worked at the Ivy League institution for 35 years said that he was "not surprised" that someone from the student body has been accused of making threats against Jews, citing the prevalence of critical race theory ideology on campus.
Randy Wayne, an associate professor who works at Cornell School of Integrative Plant Science Plant Biology Section, reacted to the news that junior Patrick Dai was arrested on a federal complaint Tuesday for allegedly calling for the deaths of Jewish people online and threatening to shoot up an on-campus dining hall.
"The viciousness I can't explain," he said. "[But] I'm not shocked because this is what we're producing. This is our telos (aim) of social justice. This is our telos of separating people by identity. The students will tell you when they meet somebody, they have the victimhood Olympics. Let's see who's the most oppressed and just get your privilege that way."
Wayne argues that adherence to the social justice ideology of critical race theory is anathema to truth, and the further an institution departs from the truth the more it invites totalitarianism. He believes that radicalism cannot be reached with reason if people are afraid to speak out to counter far-left perspectives.
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"I think you can't classify somebody as an identity. They're individuals," he said. "Initially people of color included Asians until they became a model minority that didn't fit the narrative and then was taken out. I mean, the words have no meaning because the whole postmodern idea that there's no objective truth is terrible. So if you're compelled to say certain words, but you'll be punished for misusing them, you just live in fear. And so the whole critical race theory has applied in the university is totalitarian and horrible, really horrible."
In a string of disturbing posts on a website unaffiliated with Cornell, Dai allegedly threatened to "shoot up" a kosher cafeteria on campus, according to a federal complaint. In another post, Dai allegedly threatened to "stab" and "slit the throat" of any Jewish males he sees on campus, to rape and throw off a cliff any Jewish females, and to behead any Jewish babies in front of their parents, court papers said.
The posts were in response to the Israel-Gaza war, which has triggered alarming incidents of antisemitism in major cities and college campuses. According to a progressive student who spoke with Fox News Digital, left-wing students on campus narrowly view the Israelis as "White," and therefore as an oppressor. The Palestinians are viewed as people of color, and therefore oppressed and morally righteous.
Wayne said Cornell students and faculty alike are terrified of speaking against the goals of social justice and critical race theory, fearing it will impact their future employment or promotional opportunities. This, in turn, causes a lack of free speech on campus, he said, where only the most radical left-wing perspective is heard.
"People are so afraid of being canceled one way or the other that there's not enough speaking to understand each other. And, you know, God forbid, you make a mistake," the professor said. "People are afraid that if they say something that it will live forever somehow electronically. And then when they go to apply, for example, to law school, they'll say, ‘Oh, we have this report on you.’"
Fox News Digital reached out to Cornell for comment and a spokesperson referred to previous statements from President Martha Pollack.
"We cannot let ourselves be defined by the acts of one person, or even ten. While we denounce hatred loudly, we must also remember to cherish and celebrate all the good that so many members of our Cornell community do and live every day," Pollack said.
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It added that Cornell will be including antisemitism education in its diversity, equity and inclusion program.
"We will not tolerate antisemitism at Cornell; indeed we will not tolerate hatred of any form, including racism or Islamophobia. What does this mean? It means, first and foremost, that when there are threats or incitement to violence, we will respond rapidly and forcefully, as we did in this case. It also means enhancing the prominence of our attention to antisemitism in our diversity and equity programing, both in online materials and in the programs that we require of and offer to our community. It means continuing to bring to campus speakers with expertise in antisemitism, its causes and strategies to intervene, as well as speakers with expertise in the history of the Jewish people."
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