The last time that we spoke for the piece ‘From Cairo to Cornell’, he was a student at Cornell University, on a PhD programme in Africana studies. The first pro‑Palestine student encampment at Cornell was established on April 25, 2024, when the university’s Coalition for Mutual Liberation (CML) created a “Liberated Zone” of tents. The demonstration occurred a week after the majority of student voters approved a ceasefire and divestment referendum, according to The Cornell Daily Sun. The September 18 protests Taal is referring to are the disruptions of a career fair by more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters at Cornell University. And from then on, Cornell was going to be the first university to deport a student effectively.