ITHACA, N.Y. -- Students opposed to Cornell's plans to build a parking lot for the West Campus house system on a parcel of land owned by the university for more than half a century took their protest into Day Hall on April 28. They sat in President Jeffrey Lehman's office for five hours before being removed by Cornell Police. 

Earlier in the week, two of the students, part of a group calling themselves the Redbud Woods Working Group, had locked themselves to a tree in front of Day Hall. They vowed to remain until the university promised not to clear the disputed lot at the intersection of University Avenue, Willard Way and Lake Street, which protesters have dubbed Redbud Woods.

The proposed 176-space parking lot, part of the university's West Campus Residential Initiative, has been an issue since the university began the municipal approval process four years ago. A legal battle between Cornell and the city of Ithaca ended last month in the State Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Department. The court upheld a lower court's ruling that overturned the decision of the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission (ILPC) to deny Cornell a certificate of appropriateness for the project.

The Day Hall occupation began shortly after noon on April 28 following a scheduled meeting between three students and Lehman in his third-floor office. Following the meeting, two of the students returned to the office with six others and refused to leave. Five of the students sat in the office in a circle chained with PVC piping. Sometime later, another large group of student protesters entered the Day Hall stairwells singing and chanting. Cornell Police officers were forced to restrict access to the building's third floor.

At about 5:45 p.m., when it became clear that the students had no intention of leaving the building peacefully, Cornell Police began removing the students from the president's office, issuing them with citations for trespassing and resisting arrest.

At about 7:15 p.m., the ILPC granted a certificate of appropriateness for the project to Cornell University.