Glass doors were smashed and buildings were covered with graffiti at Cornell University in the early hours of Monday, as backlash grows over the handling of alleged sexual violence at a fraternity house. The Day Hall building was left with smashed glass and messages on the walls that read “Smash the patriarchy,” and “At Cornell rapists are protected protestors are expelled.” “We wanted to ensure that Day Hall, the center of Cornell’s administrative function, was not able to continue business as usual,” the activists responsible told The Cornell Daily Sun on Monday. Backlash has been growing on campus over an alleged gang rape at a Cornell fraternity that reportedly took place in 2024.
On September 16, a woman, known as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit alleging that she had been raped by multiple individuals, in an incident said to involve alcohol and the drug ketamine at a fraternity house. The Chi Phi chapter at Cornell closed in 2024 following the allegations and remains barred from campus. All of the men named in the lawsuit deny wrongdoing.
A lawyer for one of the seven men named in the lawsuit said in a statement to Newsweek that that the claims are “intentionally dishonest” and “morally repugnant.” Prosecutors confirmed that an investigation has been reopened and Cornell has backed the decision. Trey Robb, interim executive director of Chi Phi Fraternity, previously told Newsweek in response to reports concerning the Cornell University case that the fraternity “condemns sexual assault and drug and alcohol abuse in the strongest possible terms. Neither has any place in our fraternity or on college campuses.” The damage came after thousands of students and faculty gathered for a massive "Justice for Survivors" protest at Cornell University, demanding the resignation of President Michael Kotlikoff and systemic accountability over the handling of the alleged assault case.
Newsweek reached out to Cornell University for comment. This is a developing story and will be updated.
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