Cornell students stage anti-rape rally

Demonstrators chanting and holding signs at a protest on the Cornell campus in Ithaca, New York, on Oct 5.

ITHACA, New York – Throngs of Cornell University students rallied on Oct 5, voicing solidarity with a classmate whose gang-rape allegations have ignited a national uproar and demanding that the Ivy League school take firmer action against sexual violence on campus.

The protesters called for an external inquiry into how the matter has been handled by Cornell’s administration.

The alleged gang-rape victim, identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe, has said the university failed to adequately investigate and punish the campus fraternity members who were involved.

Demonstrators also called for the resignation of Cornell president Michael Kotlikoff and other members of his administration, saying their policies have perpetuated what protesters called a “culture of rape” on campus.

In a lawsuit filed in September, Jane Doe said she was plied with drugs and alcohol, and then sexually assaulted by several members of the campus chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024 after she had become incapacitated.

Doe, who was 20 at the time, named seven Chi Phi members as defendants in the suit, along with the fraternity chapter, a local bar, her own sorority, and the university.

She had reported the alleged assault to police several weeks after the fact, leading to an internal university investigation and a law enforcement probe, but the local prosecutor declined to bring criminal charges in the case.

Cornell, which has defended its response to the original report, shut down the Chi Phi chapter and imposed a range of disciplinary measures on the fraternity members involved, including expulsions and other sanctions.

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

The lawsuit criticised the university for having offered some of the alleged perpetrators a chance to mitigate their penalties by writing essays.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Oct 2 appointed the state’s attorney-general, Letitia James, as a special prosecutor to take over a newly reopened criminal investigation, saying she was “deeply disturbed” by how local authorities originally dealt with the case.

The boisterous but orderly demonstration on Oct 5 included a march by several hundred students, faculty supporters and community activists – perhaps 1,000 or more – through the campus in the upstate New York town of Ithaca.

The protesters, chanting “one struggle, one fight” and “no justice, no peace” filled Cornell’s Ho Plaza, the central pedestrian square and gathering space on campus, and spilled over into adjacent areas. Many carried signs with slogans such as “justice for Jane Doe”, “we stand for survivors” and “prison sentences, not topic sentences”.

The rally came a day after Doe and her lawyer said they had received multiple threats since filing the lawsuit, which has prompted a public outcry, particularly on social media under the banner “#IamJaneDoe”, over why law enforcement declined to pursue charges in 2024.

The uproar also stirred a backlash by others who have questioned whether keeping Doe anonymous was fair because it denied those implicated in the matter the chance to publicly face their accuser.

Addressing the controversy on Oct 3, Kotlikoff promised 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”. REUTERS