Cornell President Accused of Running Over Student’s Foot Earlier This Year, Then Banning Him from Campus

Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff found himself at the center of another controversy months before the school was named in a sexual assault lawsuit

NEED TO KNOW

• In April, Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff hit one student with his vehicle and was accused of running over another student’s foot when they surrounded his vehicle while protesting free speech on campus
• After the Cornell University Police Department investigated the incident, an ad hoc committee found the group at fault but stated that Kotlikoff declined to take action against any of the students in a statement released on May 15 
• Days after receiving his diploma on May 23, Aiden Vallecillo — who accused Kotlikoff of running over his foot — allegedly received a Persona Non Grata Notice banning him from any Cornell-owned or operated property

A lawsuit filed against Cornell University earlier this month has led to much debate over the administration’s handling of a young woman’s accusations of sexual assault by members of an on-campus fraternity.

This now marks the second time this year that the university has found itself in the national spotlight over the administration’s response to an incident on campus.

In May, a then-student shared that he had allegedly received a one-year ban from the campus after accusing Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff of running over his foot during a protest at the school.

That ban was first reported by The Ithaca Voice.

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Aiden Vallecillo was among a group of students from the group Students for a Democratic Cornell (SFDC) who surrounded Kotlikoff’s vehicle while protesting restrictions on free speech at the school on April 30.

Video released after the incident shows members of the group surrounding Kotlikoff’s vehicle and a few members can be seen kicking the back of the car as he attempts to back out from his parking space.

It also shows the vehicle hitting one student who is standing behind the car.

Vallecillo claimed after the incident that Kotlikoff also ran over his foot, a claim that cannot be confirmed or denied based on the available footage.

An investigation was launched into the incident by the Cornell University Police Department (CUPD), and those findings were then shared with a special committee.

Then, on May 15, the Ad Hoc Special Committee of the Board of Trustees released a statement which said, in part, that they had “found that the actions taken by these individuals on April 30th, which included following President Kotlikoff from an evening event into a parking lot and impeding his ability to leave, are inconsistent with university policies governing expressive activity and our standards for respectful conduct, safety, and the prohibition of intimidation.”

That same statement also said that “President Kotlikoff has declined to pursue a complaint against the students involved, which would have been required to initiate action under the university’s code of conduct.”

However, shortly after releasing that statement, action was allegedly taken against Vallecillo.

He told the Voice that shortly after receiving his diploma on May 23, a CUPD officer entered his residence without knocking to serve him with a Persona Non Grata Notice, a copy of which was obtained by PEOPLE.

That notice prohibited Vallecillo from entering any “grounds owned, operated or maintained by Cornell University” for one year.

On June 23, the editorial board of The Cornell Daily Sun released an editorial decrying the actions of the committee and the investigation, which members of SFDC said could not be investigated by the Ithaca Police Department because the CUPD refused to cede jurisdiction over the incident.

“This investigation was not independent,” the editorial stated. “It was conducted by CUPD who are accountable to Kotlikoff and therefore cannot investigate their boss independently ‘without any bias or undue influence.’”

The Cornell Daily Sun is at the center of this latest campus scandal as well, having made a point of continuously covering the allegations made by the former student who is now suing the school and releasing the names of the men she accuses of sexual assault in a Sept. 21 editorial headlined, “Cornell Won’t, We Will.”

A Cornell spokesperson and the CUPD did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.

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