‘Smash the patriarchy’: Activists graffiti Cornell hall over gang rape case

Student groups call for the abolition of Greek life and punitive action in wake of fraternity assault allegations.

A Cornell University protester holds a sign in support of a student, known anonymously as Jane Doe, whose alleged gang rape is driving demands for campus-wide and criminal reforms [Adrian Kraus/AP Photo]

Protesters in the United States have shattered a glass door at Cornell University’s main administrative headquarters and spray-painted messages on the building’s walls as backlash continues following allegations about a 2024 gang rape at a local fraternity.

In the early hours of Monday, the glass panes on an entrance door for the building, Day Hall, were smashed, leaving shards strewn across the floor.

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Activists, outraged at the school’s handling of the case, also graffitied nearby walls with slogans like “At Cornell rapists are protected protesters are expelled” and “Smash the patriarchy”.

The predawn incident came ahead of a rally demanding “justice for survivors” by student groups on Monday.

Cornell spokesperson Kyle Kimball said Monday that the university was investigating the vandalism.

“We understand the frustration and strong emotions being expressed across our community,” Kimball said. “Those concerns deserve to be heard, but damaging property is not the answer.”

Cornell, a prominent Ivy League university in the state of New York, has been at the centre of a national firestorm over sexual violence on US campuses, after an anonymous student, Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit last month alleging a gang rape at the fraternity Chi Phi.

Her complaint accuses seven former students of perpetrating “heinous criminal sexual acts” against her during a fraternity party on the night of October 19, 2024, after she says she was pressured to drink and take the drug ketamine.

The fraternity, Cornell University and others are named as co-defendants in the suit. Lawyers for two of the former students have rejected claims that they participated in sexual assault.

The case has elicited outcry over how sexual assault is handled on campuses across the country.

At Monday’s demonstration, students demanded an overhaul of the university’s sexual assault complaint process, the termination of certain school officials and stricter disciplinary action against alleged abusers.

In a statement to the student news outlet The Cornell Daily Sun, student organisers wrote that they were calling for the “abolition” of the Interfraternity Council system on campus and the “expulsion/revocation of degrees for all Chi Phi members involved in the rape”.

They also demanded that Cornell’s Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards be replaced by a “democratic disciplinary system”. Monday’s protest, they added, was designed to draw attention to the systemic failures that allow sexual violence to occur.

“We wanted to ensure that Day Hall, the centre of Cornell’s administrative function, was not able to continue business as usual,” the students told the campus paper.

The alleged crime at the fraternity, they wrote, was part of a “rampant pattern of sexual assault perpetrated by members of Greek life at Cornell University and hundreds of other academic institutions throughout the country”.

Under pressure by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, the university announced this week it would be appointing a law firm to conduct an independent internal review of how it initially handled the case.

A transcript, obtained by US media, shows that although no charges were filed, Doe told campus police at the time that she could “say with 100% confidence I was raped”.

Her lawsuit also alleges that Cornell “afforded” the accused fraternity members “the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays” to the school. Two were later expelled, and another two were suspended.

在兄弟会性侵指控曝光后，学生团体呼吁废除兄弟会/姐妹会制度并采取惩罚措施。

一名康奈尔大学的抗议者举着标语，声援一名匿名学生（化名简·多伊），该学生据称遭到轮奸，引发了人们对校园和刑事改革的呼吁。[Adrian Kraus/AP Photo]

美国抗议者砸碎了康奈尔大学主行政总部的一扇玻璃门，并在建筑物的墙壁上喷涂了标语，此前当地一个兄弟会被指控在 2024 年发生轮奸案，引发了持续的强烈反弹。

周一凌晨，戴伊大厅大楼入口门上的玻璃被砸碎，碎片散落在地板上。

问题 1/3：康奈尔大学为何重启强奸案调查？

列表 2/3：惩罚是否与罪行相符？“康奈尔七人案”引发争议

康奈尔大学案例（共3例，此为第3例）使纽约的进步形象与其强奸法形成鲜明对比。

活动人士对学校处理此案的方式感到愤怒，还在附近的墙上涂鸦，写着“在康奈尔大学，强奸犯受到保护，抗议者被驱逐”和“粉碎父权制”等标语。

这起凌晨发生的事件发生在周一学生团体举行集会，要求“为幸存者伸张正义”之前。

康奈尔大学发言人凯尔·金博尔周一表示，该大学正在调查这起破坏事件。

“我们理解社区民众表达的沮丧和强烈情绪，”金博尔说。“这些诉求理应得到倾听，但破坏财产绝非解决之道。”

康奈尔大学是纽约州一所著名的常春藤盟校，上个月一名匿名学生简·多伊提起民事诉讼，指控该校学生所在的兄弟会 Chi Phi 发生轮奸事件，此后，康奈尔大学因美国校园性暴力问题而成为全国舆论风暴的中心。

她的投诉指控七名前学生在 2024 年 10 月 19 日晚的兄弟会派对上对她实施了“令人发指的性犯罪行为”，她说当时她被迫喝酒并服用了氯胺酮。

该兄弟会、康奈尔大学及其他相关方均被列为诉讼被告。两名前学生的律师否认了他们参与性侵犯的指控。

该案件引发了人们对全国各地校园性侵事件处理方式的强烈抗议。

在周一的示威活动中，学生们要求彻底改革大学的性侵犯投诉程序，解雇某些学校官员，并对涉嫌施暴者采取更严厉的纪律处分。

学生组织者在向学生新闻媒体《康奈尔每日太阳报》发表的声明中写道，他们呼吁“废除”校园内的兄弟会理事会制度，并“开除/撤销所有参与强奸案的 Chi Phi 成员的学位”。

他们还要求康奈尔大学学生行为与社区标准办公室被“民主的纪律处分制度”所取代。他们补充说，周一的抗议活动旨在引起人们对导致性暴力事件发生的系统性缺陷的关注。

“我们希望确保康奈尔大学行政中心戴伊楼无法继续照常运作，”学生们告诉校报。

他们写道，这起发生在兄弟会的所谓犯罪事件，是“康奈尔大学以及全国数百所其他学术机构中，兄弟会成员实施的猖獗性侵犯模式”的一部分。

在纽约州州长凯西·霍楚尔和总检察长莱蒂西亚·詹姆斯的压力下，该大学本周宣布将聘请一家律师事务所，对其最初处理此案的方式进行独立的内部审查。

美国媒体获得的一份笔录显示，虽然没有提出任何指控，但当时约翰·多伊告诉校园警察，她可以“百分之百肯定地说我被强奸了”。

她的诉讼还指控康奈尔大学“给予”被指控的兄弟会成员“通过向学校提交论文来减轻其行为罪责的机会”。其中两人后来被开除，另两人被停学。