Cornell University vandalized with graffiti as protests over alleged gang rape continue
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.
Cornell University’s main building was vandalized with graffiti and a glass door broken overnight as student groups continued protesting on Monday over the Ivy League institution’s handling of an alleged 2024 fraternity-house gang rape.
The administrative office windows were seen with holes knocked in and red painted messages on the brick wall condemning patriarchy and the school’s handling of sexual assaults.
The university has been under a firestorm of backlash this week in the wake of a newly filed lawsuit from a then-sophomore who alleged that she was fed illegal drugs and alcohol and raped by several men at the Chi Phi fraternity house on October 19, 2024.
The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, sued the university, seven former students, the fraternity and others.
Her lawsuit said that she became fully incapacitated as fraternity members assaulted her, and that one man sent others a message inviting them to participate.
The suit has drawn national attention to what Cornell, its police force and the local district attorney did, or rather didn’t do, after she told the campus police in November 2024 she “can say with 100% confidence I was raped.”
Despite reporting the incident to campus police, no criminal charges were ever filed.
“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,” Cornell spokesperson Kyle Kimball said Monday afternoon.
“We are investigating the vandalism at Day Hall and will address it in accordance with University policy and applicable law,” Kimball continued.
A roster of student organizations planned a late-afternoon “Justice for Survivors” demonstration to push for changes in the university's process for handling sexual assault complaints and for more punishments connected to the one that followed a party at the Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024.
Lawyers for two of the former students denied they participated in a sexual assault.
Attempts by The Associated Press to reach the other men or their representatives have been unsuccessful.
Court records show that some of the accused students, when interviewed by Cornell investigators, described the sexual activity as consensual.
The Chi Phi chapter at Cornell was shut down, and the Ivy League university has said it expelled some students and suspended others. In a statement last week, the administration bristled about the “false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case.”
Students, however, have demanded more accountability and transparency, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said Jane Doe was “failed by people and institutions" including the Cornell police and local District Attorney Matthew Van Houten.
Hochul appointed the state attorney general last week to take over a criminal investigation that Van Houten had reopened days earlier, and the governor called for an independent review of Cornell’s handling of the matter.
After the week's developments, Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff released an apologetic video Saturday, saying that Jane Doe's account “raises heartbreaking and troubling issues about sexual assault, dehumanization and aspects of party culture, alcohol and drug use.”
Kotlikoff reaffirmed his support for an independent review of the university's actions and vowed more transparency and a commitment to "finding the answers our community deserves.”
