EducationMay 3, 2026

What Happened at Cornell: Student Accounts and Campus Footage

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② Start Lesson

Key Vocabulary

president/ˈprɛz.ɪ.dənt/

the leader of a university or organization

"The president spoke to students after the event."

video/ˈvɪd.i.oʊ/

a recording that shows moving images

"Students shared a short video of the incident."

parking/ˈpɑːr.kɪŋ/

the place where cars stop or wait

"They met near the parking area."

Listening

What Happened at Cornell: Student Accounts and Campus Footage

On the evening after a campus debate about the Gaza war, Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff walked to his car. Students asked him questions and followed him. Video clips show his car backing into two people. One student said the car ran over his foot and another student stumbled.

Kotlikoff wrote that the group surrounded his vehicle and that he left when he saw space behind the car. The university later released security footage. Campus police and emergency medical workers went to the scene. The incident happened in a Day Hall parking area in Ithaca, New York, late on April 30, 2026.

102 words

Quiz

1. Who is the university president?

2. Where did the incident happen?

3. How many people were struck?

Reading Practice

Read the article from the Listening section aloud. Your AI teacher will give you pronunciation feedback.

Discussion

Do you ever join a group to ask leaders questions in public? What happened?

Have you ever seen a short video that changed what people believed about an event? How did it feel?

What do you think when a disagreement becomes loud in public?