Key takeaways:
- Protesters smashed a door and painted slogans on Cornell’s Day Hall early Monday.
- A student’s civil lawsuit alleges that seven former students sexually assaulted her at a Chi Phi party on October 19, 2024; the accused men deny wrongdoing.
- The New York Times reported that two fraternity members were expelled, a third graduate was barred from campus and two others were suspended.
Protesters smashed a glass door and painted slogans on Cornell University’s main administration building early Monday, as the school faces scrutiny over its handling of a student’s allegation that seven fraternity members raped her in 2024.
The damage at Day Hall occurred at about 3 a.m., The Guardian reported, citing the student newspaper The Cornell Daily Sun. Red paint on walls beside the entrance read “SMASH THE PATRIARCHY” and “AT CORNELL RAPISTS ARE PROTECTED PROTESTORS ARE EXPELLED.” A security camera above one of the messages was painted over.
In a statement obtained by the student newspaper, the activists said they acted in response to the lawsuit and “in protest of the global systems of power that allowed this to happen in the first place.” They said they wanted to ensure that Day Hall, “the center of Cornell’s administrative function,” could not continue business as usual. In a manifesto reported by The Guardian, they defended the damage as nonviolent: “Property damage is not violent; condoning rape is.”
Cornell spokesperson Kyle Kimball said the university was investigating. “We understand the frustration and strong emotions being expressed across our community. Those concerns deserve to be heard, but damaging property is not the answer,” he said. Kimball said Cornell would address the vandalism under university policy and applicable law.
The incident came ahead of a Monday campus rally calling for “justice for survivors.” According to Al Jazeera, demonstrators demanded changes to Cornell’s sexual assault complaint process, the removal of certain school officials and stronger disciplinary action against alleged abusers. Student organizers also called for the abolition of the campus Interfraternity Council system and for all Chi Phi members involved in the alleged assault to be expelled or have their degrees revoked, Al Jazeera reported.
The civil lawsuit, filed by a student identified in court papers as Jane Doe, alleges that seven former students sexually assaulted her during a Chi Phi fraternity party on October 19, 2024. She says she was pressured to drink and take ketamine. Her lawyers say she was drugged and repeatedly raped over seven hours. The fraternity, Cornell and others are defendants in the suit. The accused men have denied wrongdoing.
The lawsuit alleges that Cornell allowed the accused students to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays. The university disputes that account. The New York Times reported that two fraternity members were expelled; a third, who had graduated, was barred from campus; and two others were suspended and placed on disciplinary probation. The remaining two were ordered not to contact Doe, to study sexual harassment and related subjects, and to write reflection papers, the newspaper reported.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said his office was looking again at the case after the lawsuit presented allegations he described as “dramatically different” from Doe’s earlier statement to police. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she was appointing Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to investigate. Al Jazeera reported that Cornell also planned to appoint a law firm for an independent review of its initial handling of the case.
In a Saturday video message, Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said the university would examine ways to prevent a similar situation, including “a serious look at the role of fraternities and sororities in campus life.”
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