Students vandalize Cornell building for addressing gang rape allegations | American universities

Student activists vandalized a Cornell University administration building overnight in response to the university’s handling of allegations of gang rape in a high-profile case that dominated national news.

Students broke a glass door at the entrance to Day Hall and painted messages on the walls around 3 a.m. Monday, the Cornell Daily Sun reported.

The messages, which read “SMASH THE PATRIARCHY” and “AT CORNELL RAPISTS ARE PROTECTED, PROTESTERS ARE EXPELLED,” were written in red paint on the two walls surrounding the doors. The security camera above one of the posts has also been repainted.

These actions were prompted by a recent lawsuit alleging gang rape at a fraternity house in 2024 and “in protest against the global systems of power that allowed this to happen in the first place,” according to a statement obtained by the student publication.

“We wanted to ensure that Day Hall, the center of Cornell’s administrative function, was not able to continue business as usual,” the statement added.

Kyle Kimball, a Cornell spokesman, said in a statement that the community’s concerns were heard, but condemned the damage to school property.

“We understand the frustration and strong emotions expressed within our community. These concerns deserve to be heard, but damaging property is not the solution,” Kimball said. “We are investigating the vandalism at Day Hall and will address it in accordance with University policy and applicable law.”

Student activists defended their actions as nonviolent, in a manifesto obtained by the student publication. “We reject the dogma that would condemn our actions this morning as violent while condoning rape,” they wrote. “The material damage is not violent; tolerating rape is. »

Protests led by student activist groups are expected to take place on campus today.

Meanwhile, Cornell is facing scrutiny after an outcry over the “leniency” shown by seven fraternity members named as the perpetrators.

According to lawyers for the student, who filed a civil suit against the university and her alleged attackers earlier in September, only two members of the Chi Phi fraternity were expelled after the October 2024 incident, in which she said she was drugged and repeatedly raped for seven hours.

Two of the members of the Chi Phi fraternity were expelled and a third, already a graduate, was barred from the Cornell campus, reports the New York Times. Two others were suspended and placed on disciplinary probation.

Two other men, according to the outlet, were ordered not to contact the sophomore, known in court documents as Jane Doe, and were required to study sexual harassment, social media use and bystander intervention, and write “reflection papers.”

The lawsuit also claimed that the seven fraternity members allegedly involved in the incident were “given the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell.”

The university said that statement did not accurately reflect what happened. The accused men have denied any wrongdoing.

Tompkins County Prosecutor Matthew Van Houten said his office was re-examining the case after the woman, who was 20 at the time of the alleged assault, presented allegations in her lawsuit that were “drastically different” from the statement she made to police two years ago.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that she was appointing Letitia James, the state’s attorney general, as special prosecutor to investigate allegations of gang rape at Cornell University.

Additionally, in a video message Saturday, Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff said the school would take steps to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future. That included “a serious examination of the role of fraternities and sororities in campus life,” Kotlikoff said.