Sam Levin, Keely Aouga and Edward Helmore
Mon, October 5, 2026
THE GUARDIAN
Thousands of students and faculty gathered for a demonstration at Cornell.Photograph: Olga Fedorova/EPA
Mass protests erupted at Cornell University on Monday, with students criticizing officials' handling of gang-rape allegations, demanding the president's resignation and painting "SMASH THE PATRIARCHY" on an administration building.
Thousands of students and faculty gathered for a demonstration, sparked by the high-profile case of a former student known as Jane Doe, who said in a recent lawsuit that she was plied with drugs and raped at a fraternity house in 2024. The case has prompted international outrage and intense scrutiny of college fraternities and sexual violence on US campuses.
Protesters shouted, "Ban the frats" and held signs saying, "At Cornell, rapists are safer than women" and "Stop rape culture." Some demonstrators directed their anger at Michael Kotlikoff, Cornell's president, arguing he had failed to keep students safe and chanting, "Kotlikoff, resign!"
The demonstration took place after some students had smashed a glass door at the entrance of Day Hall, a building that houses the president's office, and painted messages on the facade at approximately 3am on Monday, the Cornell Daily Sun reported.
The messages in red paint read "SMASH THE PATRIARCHY" and "AT CORNELL RAPISTS ARE PROTECTED PROTESTORS ARE EXPELLED". The security camera above one of the messages was also painted over.
The students who graffitied the building said in a statement to the student newspaper that they were protesting "the global systems of power that allowed this to happen in the first place".
Related: Before Cornell turmoil, successive US administrations seesawed in attitudes towards campus assaults
"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. The students' painted message was a reference to arguments that campus officials had treated pro-Palestine protesters more harshly than students accused of sexual misconduct, with four student demonstrators suspended in 2024, according to the Cornell Daily Sun.
Kyle Kimball, a Cornell spokesperson, condemned vandalism in a statement on Monday.
"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," Kimball said. "We are investigating the vandalism at Day Hall and will address it in accordance with University policy and applicable law."
The student activists defended their actions in a manifesto obtained by the student publication. "We reject the dogma that would condemn our actions this morning as violent while excusing rape," they wrote. "Property damage is not violent; condoning rape is."
The demonstrations escalated as Cornell faces widespread backlash for its handling of Jane Doe's case, with critics saying the university had been too lenient with the accused men and had failed the victim.
According to lawyers for Jane Doe, who filed a civil lawsuit 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 repeatedly raped over the course of seven hours. Jane Doe dropped out of Cornell after the incident.
A third fraternity member, who had already graduated, was barred from the Cornell campus, the New York Times reported on Saturday. Two more were reportedly given suspensions and disciplinary probation.
Two other men, the outlet said, were ordered not to contact the sophomore and required to study sexual harassment, social media use and bystander intervention, and to write "reflection papers".
The lawsuit claimed that the seven fraternity members allegedly involved in the incident were "afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell".
Related: Cornell University to take 'serious look' at fraternities after rape allegations
The university has said that claim does not accurately reflect what occurred. The accused men have denied all wrongdoing.
One student protester who addressed the crowd on Monday said: "Too often, we are met with silence, we are met with statements, we are met with procedures, but not enough support. How much does it take for our university to stand with survivors?"
And a professor, according to the AP, said to applause: "Rape should not be inevitable."
Matthew Van Houten, the Tompkins county district attorney, who is also under fire for his office's handling of the original allegations, announced last week he was reopening the case. Van Houten said Jane Doe, who was 20 at the time of the alleged assault, presented allegations in her lawsuit that were "dramatically different" from the statement she gave to police two years ago. Jane Doe's attorney has pushed back on those claims and accused the DA of failing to do a thorough investigation after the incident.
Kathy Hochul, the New York governor, said on Thursday she was appointing Letitia James, the state's attorney general, as special prosecutor to investigate the alleged gang rape at Cornell University.
Kotlikoff, the university president under fire, addressed the case in a video message on Saturday, saying the school would take steps to prevent a similar situation in the future. That included "a serious look at the role of fraternities and sororities in campus life", Kotlikoff said.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
A crowd of students protests Cornell’s response to gang rape complaint
BY LEAH WILLINGHAM AND TASSANEE VEJPONGSA
Graffiti and broken glass at an administration building
The Ivy League school has been trying to quell a firestorm over its handling of the alleged 2024 gang rape. Early Monday, the university found signs of the anger on the very walls of its administrative headquarters.
Holes were knocked into one of the building’s glass doors, and the walls beside them were marked with red-painted messages condemning patriarchy and the Ivy League school’s handling of sexual assaults, news media photos showed. Later Monday, the graffiti was removed and the door was boarded up.
Cornell spokesperson Kyle Kimball said in a statement that the university was investigating and that “damaging property is not the answer” to Cornellians’ “frustration and strong emotions.” Campus police referred questions to his office, which declined to provide more detail on the incident.
Jane Doe alleges that she was sexually assaulted by multiple Chi Phi fraternity members in October 2024 after being pressured into drinking and taking drugs. She was a Cornell student at the time.
The woman recently 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
“I felt like bait. I felt like lions around me. It just was a totally debilitating place to be in,” she told Cornell investigators last year, according to records reviewed by The Associated Press.
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.
Shortly before she went to Cornell police in November 2024, Jane Doe recorded a phone call with one of the men she says raped her. ABC News broadcast portions of that call Monday, containing only what it said was his voice, and recounted other parts of the conversation in writing.
“What y’all did would be classified as gang rape,” she told him at one point, according to the network, which said she had provided the recording to the university.
Students are demanding transparency, accountability
The suit has drawn national attention to what Cornell, its police force and the local district attorney did after she told the campus police in November 2024 she “can say with 100% confidence I was raped.”
No criminal charges have been filed. 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, 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.”
___
Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed from New York.
TASSANEE VEJPONGSA
Vejpongsa is a video journalist for The Associated Press in Philadelphia. She was previously based in Taipei and Bangkok.
BY LEAH WILLINGHAM AND TASSANEE VEJPONGSA
AP
October 5, 2026
ITHACA, New York (AP) — Cornell students thronged a campus plaza to protest the university’s response to allegations of sexual assault at a fraternity house, and the school’s main administration building was splashed with graffiti and damaged overnight.
At a demonstration that overflowed the large space in front of the school’s student center, students, faculty members and others wore purple ribbons and held signs with such messages as “support survivors, expel rapists” and “Justice 4 every Jane Doe” — the name by which the woman who reported the assault is known in court papers. Other people watched from pathways, windows and a nearby hill.
“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?”
Hispanic studies professor Julia Chang added to applause: “Rape should not be inevitable.”
Calls for Cornell president’s resignation
Speakers faulted fraternities, the university trustees and Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, saying he and his administration have prioritized protecting the university’s reputation over students’ safety.
“Kotlikoff, resign!” demonstrators chanted, among other slogans, as they marched to the damaged administration building to present a list of demands. They included changes to how the student code of conduct defines sexual consent, an overhaul of the student discipline system and expulsions or degree revocations for all students involved in the alleged 2024 assault of the woman known as Jane Doe, among other things.
The woman’s account of being sexually assaulted by several fraternity brothers has made clear, on and beyond campus, that “for all the strong feelings about sexual assault, .... we do not do enough to prevent it, nor to support survivors after it happens,” student Madeline Gage said.
The group began disbanding with chants including “ban the frats!”
October 5, 2026
ITHACA, New York (AP) — Cornell students thronged a campus plaza to protest the university’s response to allegations of sexual assault at a fraternity house, and the school’s main administration building was splashed with graffiti and damaged overnight.
At a demonstration that overflowed the large space in front of the school’s student center, students, faculty members and others wore purple ribbons and held signs with such messages as “support survivors, expel rapists” and “Justice 4 every Jane Doe” — the name by which the woman who reported the assault is known in court papers. Other people watched from pathways, windows and a nearby hill.
“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?”
Hispanic studies professor Julia Chang added to applause: “Rape should not be inevitable.”
Calls for Cornell president’s resignation
Speakers faulted fraternities, the university trustees and Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, saying he and his administration have prioritized protecting the university’s reputation over students’ safety.
“Kotlikoff, resign!” demonstrators chanted, among other slogans, as they marched to the damaged administration building to present a list of demands. They included changes to how the student code of conduct defines sexual consent, an overhaul of the student discipline system and expulsions or degree revocations for all students involved in the alleged 2024 assault of the woman known as Jane Doe, among other things.
The woman’s account of being sexually assaulted by several fraternity brothers has made clear, on and beyond campus, that “for all the strong feelings about sexual assault, .... we do not do enough to prevent it, nor to support survivors after it happens,” student Madeline Gage said.
The group began disbanding with chants including “ban the frats!”
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Prosecutor reopens probe into Cornell gang rape allegations after accuser files lawsuit
Graffiti and broken glass at an administration building
The Ivy League school has been trying to quell a firestorm over its handling of the alleged 2024 gang rape. Early Monday, the university found signs of the anger on the very walls of its administrative headquarters.
Holes were knocked into one of the building’s glass doors, and the walls beside them were marked with red-painted messages condemning patriarchy and the Ivy League school’s handling of sexual assaults, news media photos showed. Later Monday, the graffiti was removed and the door was boarded up.
Cornell spokesperson Kyle Kimball said in a statement that the university was investigating and that “damaging property is not the answer” to Cornellians’ “frustration and strong emotions.” Campus police referred questions to his office, which declined to provide more detail on the incident.
Jane Doe alleges that she was sexually assaulted by multiple Chi Phi fraternity members in October 2024 after being pressured into drinking and taking drugs. She was a Cornell student at the time.
The woman recently 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
“I felt like bait. I felt like lions around me. It just was a totally debilitating place to be in,” she told Cornell investigators last year, according to records reviewed by The Associated Press.
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.
Shortly before she went to Cornell police in November 2024, Jane Doe recorded a phone call with one of the men she says raped her. ABC News broadcast portions of that call Monday, containing only what it said was his voice, and recounted other parts of the conversation in writing.
“What y’all did would be classified as gang rape,” she told him at one point, according to the network, which said she had provided the recording to the university.
Students are demanding transparency, accountability
The suit has drawn national attention to what Cornell, its police force and the local district attorney did after she told the campus police in November 2024 she “can say with 100% confidence I was raped.”
No criminal charges have been filed. 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, 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.”
___
Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed from New York.
TASSANEE VEJPONGSA
Vejpongsa is a video journalist for The Associated Press in Philadelphia. She was previously based in Taipei and Bangkok.
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