An email from the student council warned ‘non-marginalized’ students that their attendance would have a ‘negative impact’ on their ‘recruiting outcomes.’
Business students at Cornell University who are not members of marginalized groups have been instructed to refrain from participating in certain professional development opportunities and have been warned that ignoring the guidance could hurt their professional prospects, according to documents obtained exclusively by National Review.
The student council at Cornell’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management sent an email to the student body on Friday that included two documents, both of which detailed what the group described at “Allyship in Action.”
Allyship, according to the council, “refers to the active and continuous practice of using one’s privilege to support, advocate for, and stand with marginalized or underrepresented groups.” To challenge systemic inequalities, students who “do not identify with the specific marginalized or underrepresented group that a diversity conference is designed for . . . should respect that space and should not attend,” the council said in the email.
“Furthermore, we want to stress the negative impact your presence may have on your own recruiting outcomes, as well as Cornell’s relationship with these organizations,” the email continued.
Diversity conferences are professional events that include opportunities for talent development, career preparation and guidance, mentorship, and job recruitment, according to the email. Said conferences invite “diverse candidates” within the MBA space to find “community, support, and opportunities.”
The Reaching Out MBA conference is just one example of the diversity conferences routinely promoted by Cornell. Held in New Orleans and slated to begin next week, the conference is “the world’s largest gathering of LGBTQ+ business students and alumni,” and includes a career fair for recruitment. Johnson has also recently promoted the National Black MBA Conference, the “premier opportunity for Black professionals to find their next best role,” the AfroTech conference, “the world’s largest Black tech conference and innovation experience,” the Women in Investing conference, which provides chances for networking and recruitment for female MBA students, and the Prospanica National conference, which gives Hispanic students a venue to connect with recruiters, as upcoming opportunities for marginalized students.
A Cornell spokeswoman confirmed to National Review that the documents were part of “student-to-student conversations.” The spokeswoman also noted that recruiting conferences are open to all, but did not comment on the council’s directive that non-marginalized students bow out of specific conferences.
An “Allyship in Action” guide circulated by the student council also instructed MBA students to “manifest” allyship by amplifying the voices of “underrepresented peers” during class projects, discussions, or meetings; calling out inappropriate comments, micro aggressions, or discriminatory behaviors; encouraging equitable representation in student organizations or promoting “policies that benefit underrepresented groups”; and seeking to “learn more about systemic barriers, privileges, and how to better support marginalized peers, instead of relying on them to explain their experiences.”
As “protected spaces,” diversity conferences allow members of underrepresented groups to “build support networks with others who share similar lived experiences,” and offer resources specific “to the needs and challenges faced by marginalized groups.”
“If you do not belong to the group that the diversity conference is designed for, attending could potentially compromise the purpose of the event as a protected space,” the council says in a resource. “Your presence may inhibit the open dialogue and safe sharing that these spaces are intended to foster.”
An MBA student at Cornell who preferred to remain anonymous decried the student council’s guidelines, which he said “pressure certain groups not to attend these recruiting events under the guise of creating ‘safe spaces.'”
“In this tough economy, where MBA job prospects are scarce for many of us, it is abhorrent to see access to intimate networking opportunities restricted based on identity rather than merit,” the student told NR. “True equality should not equate to carving out exclusive zones that sideline most MBA students and potentially skirt equal opportunity laws.”
President Donald Trump has cracked down on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts similar to the ones promoted last week by Cornell’s student council. Trump suspended $1 billion in federal funding to Cornell in April, after the administration opened an investigation into racial discrimination. Last month, after repeated pressure from the Trump administration, Cornell quietly renamed its Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives to the Office of Academic Discovery and Impact (OADI).
Cornell’s OADI, which features on its website an indigenous land acknowledgment, advises and supports first-generation and low-income students and students of color.
The office also hosts campus events, including events on body positivity, to “foster body acceptance for positive social change on campus,” and on “Latina/o Studies.”