Cornell’s student assembly unanimously demanded that the university “halt” plans for a new joint degree program funded by the Chinese government, a further setback for administrators grappling with a faculty revolt over their close ties to the authoritarian country.

The university’s student leaders have chimed into the faculty-administration row over a multimillion-dollar partnership with Peking University, demanding during a March 25 meeting that Cornell suspend the partnership and “reevaluate all current international collaborations” for compliance to ethical standards.

“Obviously there were people in the student assembly who weren’t happy with the cooperation with Peking University,” Youhan Yuan, a student assembly member, told the Washington Free Beacon. “There is a risk that Peking University might do something despicable that you do not like. And that would be bad for your ethical standards.”