Hundreds of Cornell University students took over Ho Plaza on Monday afternoon for a "Justice for Survivors" rally, protesting how the university handled the investigation into an alleged 2024 gang rape at the Chi Phi fraternity. The demonstration, organized by Students for a Democratic Cornell and several advocacy groups, drew a dense crowd of students carrying signs demanding accountability from administrators.
The rally follows a civil lawsuit filed in September by a former student identified as "Jane Doe," who accused seven Chi Phi brothers of pressuring her to take ketamine and gang-raping her on the night of October 19-20, 2024. She reported the incident to Cornell police in November 2024, but prosecutors did not bring criminal charges. Cornell said its months-long internal investigation led to expulsions and suspensions, and the Chi Phi house was closed and barred from campus.
Anger intensified after the Cornell Daily Sun reported that campus police had made a drug arrest at the Chi Phi house around 1 a.m. on October 19, 2024 - less than a day before the alleged assault. The Tompkins County district attorney has since reopened the criminal investigation, and Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor on October 1. Over the weekend, vandals spray-painted graffiti on the Day Hall administration building and broke a door window; no arrests have been announced.
Student organizers demanded that Cornell expel the alleged assailants, publish a written account of its investigation, and mandate sexual-assault prevention training for students and trauma-informed training for campus police. "The student body is outraged by the administration's cover-up of this alleged crime," said co-leader Jack Hauber, citing 1,200 reported instances of campus sexual violence between 2018 and 2024 that resulted in only seven expulsions. Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff has pledged a review of the university's response.
