Today, in the face of evident intent on the part of Cornell University to use overwhelming coercive force, Cornell students and Ithaca community members occupying Redbud Woods have signed a constructive agreement with the administration, which includes the promise to vacate the site voluntarily.

Over the past few weeks we have worked alongside the young people, sometimes advising them, always supporting them. In the spirit of our respect for their thoughts and actions, of our gratitude, our esteem, and our love, we offer them the following tribute.

• We deplore the administration's obdurate determination to destroy this rich urban woodland in order to build a 176-space parking lot. It reached its decision in tortuous ways and maintained it for years despite widespread public opposition and well-informed, often expert objections by students, faculty, community officials, scientists, urban planners, and the public. Most recently, Cornell has deflected (and at times undermined) attempts by campus and community groups to reach compromise solutions and mediated agreements. That saddens us immensely.
• We salute the activists who have stuck to their principles and, time and time again, turned standoffs on the ground or at the negotiating table into victories both strategic and moral. Among them are some of the University's finest students and most principled young leaders. Through reasoned discourse and nonviolent action, the group have held their ground, literally and figuratively, for weeks and then months. Their physical courage and intellectual integrity have astounded us. In years to come they will take great pride in their conduct in this conflict, today and in the last months. For this reason we support the conditional amnesty from disciplinary and legal charges brought by the University which has been guaranteed in the agreement.
• We recognize that while today represents the end of one phase, it also signals the beginning of another. We do not abrogate our right to continue to oppose the building of the parking lot. At the same time we pledge to continue working for the goals of community, democracy, and sustainability, at Cornell and elsewhere, for which these young people have struggled so long and valiantly.

Members of the RFWG:

Ti Alkire, Romance Studies
Kora Bättig, Romance Studies
Lourdes Beneria, City and Regional Planning
Abigail Cohn, Linguistics
George Conneman, Emeritus, Applied Economics and Management
Roy Colle, Emeritus, Communications
Stuart Davis, English
Brett de Bary, Asian Studies and Comparative Literature
Laurie Drinkwater, Horticulture
Thomas Eisner, Neurobiology and Behavior
Tim Fahey, Natural Resources
Wayne Harbert, Linguistics
Martin Hatch, Music
Jane Marie Law, Asian Studies and Religious Studies
Lois Levitan, Environmental Risk Analysis Program, Communication
Joanna Luks, Romance Studies
Barbara Lynch, City and Regional Planning
Scott McMillin, English
Jane Mt. Pleasant, American Indian Program
Kenneth Mudge, Horticulture
Reeve Parker, English
Judith Pierpont, John S. Knight Writing Institute
Trevor Pinch, Science, Technology, and Society
Carol Rosen, Linguistics
David Rosen, Music
Paul Sawyer, English
James Siegel, Anthropology
Aaron Sachs, History
Elizabeth Sanders, Government
Nava Scharf, Near Eastern Studies
William Trochim, Policy Analysis and Management
Helena Maria Viramontes, English
Margaret Washington, History
Anke Wessels, Center for Religion, Ethics, and Social Policy
Thomas Whitlow, Horticulture