Read this whole jaw-dropping NYT article (Gift link!) and see if you can find evidence of anyone ethical in the entire story. It’s kind of like “Where’s Waldo?”

1.The headline is “Cornell Cancels Kehlani Performance Over Alleged Antisemitic Statements.” The caption under the photo (above) adds, “Kehlani, a popular R&B singer, is being replaced as the headline act at Cornell University’s annual concert.”

Observation: If she’s a popular performer for her singing ability and presentation, her “alleged Anti-Semitic statements should be irrelevant. This pure cancel culture stuff. Still. How can Cornell teach anybody if its administrators learn nothing?

2. “In a 2024 music video for the song “Next 2 U,” Kehlani danced in a jacket adorned with kaffiyehs as dancers waved Palestinian flags in the background. During the video’s introduction, the phrase “Long Live the Intifada” appeared against a dark background.”

Observation: So what? The event organizers can tell her not to perform that number.

3. “The Ivy League university is among dozens being investigated by the White House over allegations of antisemitism, part of the Trump administration’s targeting of universities.’

Observation: The Times can’t resist taking a gratuitous shot at President Trump. The fact that Cornell’s anti-Semitism is being investigated doesn’t turn choosing a singer with controversial views into the persecution of Jews. And what does “targeted” mean? Is it “targeting” any time an entity or individual is under scrutiny for wrongdoing? The Times use of a pejorative term suggests that the investigation of Cornell is sinister.

4. “Cornell’s president, Michael I. Kotlikoff, wrote in an email on Wednesday that “although it was not the intention, the selection of Kehlani as this year’s headliner has injected division and discord” into the event. “In the days since Kehlani was announced, I have heard grave concerns from our community that many are angry, hurt and confused that Slope Day would feature a performer who has espoused antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments in performances, videos and on social media,”

Observation: The words “spoiled snowflakes” come to mind. They are “angry, hurt and confused” by the choice of a performer? Tell the whiners to grow up or skip “Slope Day.”

5. “Mr. Kotlikoff said that his decision had come after meeting with members of the student board that planned the concert. The board members agreed that their choice had ‘compromised what is meant to be an inclusive event,’ Mr. Kotlikoff said.

Observation: She’s one part of the event! So at Cornell, “inclusive” means “nothing that anyone could possibly object to or be offended by.” Good luck with that.

6. “In an interview last year on the Breakfast Club podcast, Kehlani, who uses the pronouns she and they, said that they had “experienced a lot of pushback” and “a lot of loss” in response to their statements and social media posts about Gaza.”

Observation: Pander alert. That the singer uses confusing pronouns doesn’t obligate the Times to use them. Its duty is to its readers, and to be clear.

7. “Muna Mohamed, a senior who is the history co-chair of Black Students United at Cornell, was disappointed by the decision. She said that, as a queer person of color, she had been excited by what Kehlani’s participation in Slope Day represented. ‘I was ecstatic,’ she said. And then, ‘to see it kind of torn from us so quickly, it was kind of like, oh, our happiness never really mattered in the long run.’”

Observation: This the kind of thinking Cornell and most colleges and university are imbuing their students with. Everything is about identity. Any decision that doesn’t go their way is bigotry.

8. “In an Instagram post last week, the group wrote that choosing Kehlani to perform at an event geared toward the student body ‘effectively communicates that Israeli, Jewish and Zionist students are not a welcome part of that community.”

Observation: It doesn’t effectively communicate that at all, any more than cancelling her performance communicates that Arab, Palestinian and Muslim students are not a welcome part of the community.

9. “Amanda Silberstein, a member of Cornellians for Israel’s board and a junior, said she was relieved by the university’s decision. Ms. Silberstein said that Kehlani was welcome to hold different opinions, but she questioned why the singer had been invited at all.”

Observation: Because she’s “a popular R&B singer.” If Cornell wouldn’t invite her because of her previously-stated political views, then the singer is not welcome to hold different opinions.

9. “This was never about politics,” Ms. Silberstein said. “It was about the hate and the vitriol and the vile disgust that she expressed with a significant portion of the student population who was also funding her performance.”

Observation: ….Which means that this is now about politics.

10. “Before the first day of classes last fall, pro-Palestinian demonstrators broke a glass door and spray-painted campus buildings with phrases, including “Israel bombs, Cornell pays.” A Cornell Ph.D. student who is a Gambian-British citizen and who participated in demonstrations left the country this year after facing possible deportation, one of several college students the Trump administration has targeted.”

Observation: All irrelevant…and again the Times slimes the Trump Administration in a piece about the choice of entertainment at a campus event.

Finally, the story ends with, “Last year, Mr. Kotlikoff faced backlash after the school invited another controversial guest from the opposite side of the political spectrum: Ann Coulter, a conservative commentator. At the time, Mr. Kotlikoff defended the decision as part of a commitment to freedom of speech and diversity of opinion.”

Observation: See the Ethics Alarms post’s headline above.