Cornell cancels classes due to ‘extraordinary stress’ on campus after Patrick Dai appeared in court in court over threats made to harm Jewish student

Cornell University has announced a “community day” and will cancel classes on Friday after a student was caught making threats against Jews on campus.

In an email to the university’s prestigious campuses in Ithaca and Geneva, university heads said the decision was made due to the “extraordinary stress” of recent developments.

“We hope everyone will use this restorative time to take care of yourselves and reflect on how we can foster the kind of caring, mutually supportive community we all value,” the email said.

It comes after 21-year-old student Patrick Dai was arrested for making horrific anti-Semitic threats online, including warning “beware of Jews” and “your synagogues will become cemeteries.”

The closures at Cornell will mean all non-essential university faculty and staff will be excused from classes on Friday, while some professors were already offering Zoom teaching options for struggling students, according to the Cornell Sun.

The email added that some activities, such as sports, may be difficult to reschedule and will still go ahead as planned on Friday.

Cornell leadership made the decision the same day Dai was hauled into federal court in chains on Wednesday after he admitted making the disturbing threats.

He made the warnings, which included calling Jews “excrement on the face of the earth” and declaring that “no Jewish citizen is innocent of genocide,” on an online college forum that the FBI traced to his IP address.

Dai is being held without bail, which authorities said was due to the disturbing nature of his threats to shoot, stab and kill “pig Jews.”

The messages also included a slew of pro-Hamas comments and threats against “104 West” – the Cornell campus Center for Jewish Living.

“I’m going to shoot 104 west. Allahu akbar! from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! glory to Hamas! deliverance by any means necessary!’ read one of his posts from October 29.

“R*pe and kill all Jewish women before any more Jewish Hitlers are born,” read another gruesome threat.

The threats put the campus on high alert and the kosher dining hall was closed out of fear for the safety of the students. During his court appearance, Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Brown revealed that Dai visited the campus eatery he had threatened to target in his online posts.

The student’s actions sparked widespread panic on the college campus, which was one of several prestigious American universities rocked by the conflict in the Middle East.

Cornell President Martha Pollack acknowledged the impact the “disturbing” incident had on campus in an email to students on Wednesday.

“While we take some relief in knowing that the alleged author of the despicable anti-Semitic messages that threatened our Jewish community is in custody, it was disturbing to learn that he was a Cornell student,” Pollack wrote.

The president pledged to tackle anti-Semitism at the university and announced numerous initiatives to prevent “all forms of hate on our campus.”

The initiatives include focusing on anti-Semitism in diversity and equity programming, bringing Jewish speakers to campus and preventing “doxxing” – exposing where someone lives online.

‘Let me say it clearly again. We will not tolerate anti-Semitism at Cornell; Indeed, we will not tolerate hatred of any kind, including racism or Islamophobia,” Pollack’s email continued.

‘What does this mean? It means, first and foremost, that when there is a threat or incitement to violence, we will respond quickly and decisively, as we did in this case.”

Cornell was among several universities, including Harvard and Yale, rocked by warring groups of students on campus supporting Israel or Palestine in the escalating war in the Middle East.

Just a week before Dai’s arrest, graffiti was reportedly found on Cornell’s campus that read: “F*** Israel.”

Groups of students on numerous campuses have engaged in hostile, fiery clashes over the conflict.

Pollack called for calm at Cornell after such incidents, concluding, “I want to close by reminding everyone that we have more than 27,000 students, 4,000 faculty and 13,000 employees on our campuses. We cannot let the actions of one person, or even ten, define us.”

“While we loudly denounce hate, we must also remember to cherish and celebrate all the good that so many members of our Cornell community do and experience every day.”

At his hearing Wednesday, Dai’s mother was present and sat in the gallery after his parents had previously insisted New York Post he was innocent.

His father told the outlet that he was “depressed” and “couldn’t control his emotions,” but stated that he “didn’t commit the crime.”

“He was always very kind to society before 2021, well organized and helpful to my family and his classmates,” his father said, noting that Dai became severely depressed about two years ago.

“He told us that he had lost his purpose and motivation in life… As parents we tried to give him more love.”

However, when FBI agents were able to track him down through an IP address located at both Cornell and his home, Dai confessed to making the threats.

He is now in custody in Broome County, New York. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.