Calls for Cornell president to resign during protests over gang rape allegation - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Students and faculty members have held a protest at the Cornell University campus in New York.

They are demonstrating against the university's and police handling of allegations of a gang rape by members of a fraternity house in 2024.

A student has told the ABC she hopes this will be a turning point for the university.

Cornell University students have staged a mass rally over the university's handling of gang rape allegations in what many hope will be a turning point in the oversight of sexual violence cases on campus.

The protest comes after a woman, identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe, alleged she was gang raped by several men at the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024 after being pressured into drinking and taking drugs.

Last month, she filed a civil lawsuit against the university, seven former students, the fraternity and others, prompting a new criminal investigation.

Hundreds of students, staff and members of the public gathered at the Ithaca campus in upstate New York, calling for the president of the university to resign and for an overhaul to how allegations of sexual assault are handled.

They wore purple ribbons and held signs with messages including "support survivors, expel rapists" and "Justice 4 every Jane Doe".

Students attended the protest in support of Jane Doe. (AP: Adrian Kraus)

Suzie Barrows, a sophomore at Cornell University, attended the protest.

She said that the incident had been re-traumatising for her due to her own experience of sexual assault.

"Seeing how this case was handled really struck me to the core, and was deeply unsettling and upsetting to know that the university that I've come to love so much is capable of this and that this happened here on campus," she said.

"It's definitely brought up a lot of memories, a lot of painful memories."

Suzie Barrows is a sophomore at Cornell University.    (ABC News: Phoebe Hosier)

Ms Barrows said rape culture was still prevalent and that she did not feel safe on campus.

"The scariest thing to me is... how many people were willing to just standby and not do anything," she said.

"But what truly shocked me was how Cornell was allowing it to continue in this way by not providing proper consequences to the perpetrators.

"It has the effect of taking away hope and faith in the system in total."

Demonstrators hold a demonstration on campus. (AP: Adrian Kraus)

She said she was hopeful the national firestorm the case had ignited coupled with the response from students would lead to meaningful institutional change.

"I do feel like this is a turning point and that the world is waking up, in a sense," Ms Barrows said.

At the weekend, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she was "deeply disturbed" by how police handled the allegation.

She said she was shocked to learn that Jane Doe had told campus police she was "100 per cent" confident she had been raped but that that language had been left out of an official report sent to state prosecutors, who chose not to pursue criminal charges.

The signs at the protest critiqued the university's consent policy. (AP: Adrian Kraus)

Some students called for an external inquiry, uniform minimum sanctions for all sexual assaults on campus, and better training for campus police in responding to sexual assault complaints.

Others called for fraternity houses to be closed and for the alleged perpetrators to be stripped of their degrees or expelled.

"Too often we are met with silence, we are met with statements, we are met with procedures, but not enough support," student Athena Holloway told the crowd.

"How much does it take for our university to stand with survivors?"

Student Athena Holloway addressed the crowd at the protest. (AP: Adrian Kraus)

The march ended at Cornell's main administration building, which was defaced overnight with smashed window panes and spray-painted graffiti that read "at Cornell rapists are protected". 

Cornell spokesperson Kyle Kimball acknowledged students' "frustration and strong emotions" and said the university was investigating the damage.

Speakers at the demonstration criticised fraternities and Cornell president Michael Kotlikoff, accusing him and his administration of prioritising the protection of the university's reputation over students' safety.

Demonstrators made a series of demands, including changes to how the student code of conduct defines sexual consent. ( AP: Adrian Kraus)

"Kotlikoff, resign!" demonstrators chanted, as they marched to the defaced administration building to present a list of demands, including changes to how the student code of conduct defines sexual consent.

Addressing the controversy, Mr Kotlikoff pledged in a video message to examine the role of fraternities and sororities on campus, saying, "being part of a group can never diminish individual responsibility".

No criminal charges have been filed against the seven men named in Jane Doe's civil lawsuit.

The men have all denied any wrongdoing, some saying the sexual activity was consensual and others disputing their participation, the New York Times has reported, citing Cornell documents.

The Chi Phi chapter at Cornell has been shut down, and Cornell said it expelled some students and suspended others.

The Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University. (AP: Heather Ainsworth)

In a statement last week the administration bristled about the "false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case".

Governor Kathy Hochul has said Jane Doe was "failed by people and institutions" including the Cornell police and local District Attorney Matthew Van Houten.

She appointed the state Attorney-General Letitia James to take over the criminal investigation and has called for an independent review of Cornell's handling of the matter.