Qatar Campus To Celebrate ‘Limit of Expression’ Year

EDUCATION CITY, QATAR—

Dear Cornell Community,

Freedom of Expression is the foundation of academic understanding, breathing life into knowledge and inspiring impactful advocacy. Some may even say that Free Expression is indispensable. But here at Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar, we actually think it’s a little dispensable. To this end, I’m glad to announce our university-wide theme for the 2023–2024 academic year, “Limit of Expression in Qatar”

Sure, “freedom” and “expression” are trendy. But you know what’s even cooler? Unfree silence! Here at WCM-Q, we will guarantee your God-given right to be censored for criticizing political institutions. The theme year will be anchored by a series of cornerstone events on the Qatar campus, including Workplace Worst Practices, Intro to Bribing American Congressmen, and finally, just ‘Silence.’ Because we really want to remind you that we’re part of Cornell, we’re also planning a new QaDairy QaBar ice cream flavor– Mint Chocolate CensorChip!

In recently-released a statement, Vice President Thurayya Arayssi, M.D. wrote “expression is good, unless we disagree with it” and “WCM-Q stands for free speech, but pweaseeee don’t be mean :(” I echo my colleague’s sentiments and encourage our community to tepidly and unenthusiastically defend our right to remain silent. Like America, we must reckon with our troubled past of a campus built on slave labor and human rights abuses. In our case, this is also a troubled present. Finally, I urge you to communicate suggestions for future Limit of Expression events, which I will immediately discard.

I hope you will join me in disengaging with issues that could possibly be construed as important, and I look forward to a year of ignoring whatever the fuck happened at the World Cup.

Sincerely,

Dean Javaid I. Sheikh, M.D.