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STUDENT PROTESTS ERUPT AT CORNELL OVER MISHANDLING OF GANG-RAPE
ALLEGATIONS  
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Sam Levin, Keely Aouga and Edward Helmore
October 5, 2026
The Guardian
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_ Hall housing Michael Kotlikoff’s office spray painted as
demonstrators demand resignation of college president _

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
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demanding the president’s resignation and painting “SMASH THE
PATRIARCHY” on an administration building.

Thousands
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of students and faculty gathered for a demonstration, sparked by the
high-profile case
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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
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“Ban the frats” and held signs
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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
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“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
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[Demonstrators listen to a speaker during a protest on 5 October 2026,
in Ithaca, New York.]
Demonstrators listen to a speaker during a protest on 5 October 2026,
in Ithaca, New York. Photograph: Adrian Kraus/AP

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”.

“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
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student demonstrators suspended in 2024, according to the Cornell
Daily Sun.

Kyle Kimball, a Cornell spokesperson, condemned vandalism in a
statement on Monday.

[People attend a Justice for Survivors rally at Cornell University in
Ithaca, New York.]
People attend a Justice for Survivors rally at Cornell University in
Ithaca, New York. Photograph: Lauren Petracca/Reuters

“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.

[Students protest holding signs.]
Hundreds of Cornell students participate in a rally against the
university’s actions. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

According to lawyers for Jane Doe, who filed a civil lawsuit
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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
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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”.

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
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“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
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to the AP, said to applause: “Rape should not be inevitable.”

[Demonstrators hold signs during a protest against Cornell
University’s handling of the 2024 fraternity-house gang rape
allegations.]
Demonstrators hold signs during a protest against Cornell
University’s handling of the 2024 fraternity-house gang rape
allegations. Photograph: Adrian Kraus/AP

Matthew Van Houten, the Tompkins county district attorney, who is also
under fire
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for his office’s handling of the original allegations, announced
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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
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and accused the DA of failing to do a thorough investigation after the
incident.

Kathy Hochul
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the New York governor, said on Thursday she was appointing Letitia
James
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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
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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_

_Sam Levin is a correspondent for Guardian US, based in Los Angeles.
 Keely Aouga is a freelance reporter at Guardian US.  Edward Helmore
has been a reporter with The Observer since 1996 and the Guardian
since 2010._

* Cornell University
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* Student protests
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* college rape
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