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

By Hoda Sherif and The Associated Press. Published On 5 Oct 20265 Oct 2026.

Key points

• They additionally demanded that Cornell's Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards be replaced by a "democratic disciplinary system".
• Cornell spokesperson Kyle Kimball remarked Monday that the university was investigating the vandalism.
• In the early hours of Monday, the glass panes on an entrance door for the building, Day Hall, were smashed, leaving shards strewn throughout the floor.
• "We wanted to ensure that Day Hall, the centre of Cornell's administrative function, was not able to continue business as usual, " the students informed the campus paper.
• The predawn incident came ahead of a rally demanding "justice for survivors" by student groups on Monday.

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 after allegations concerning a 2024 gang rape at a local fraternity.

Activists, outraged at the school's handling of the case, additionally graffitied nearby walls with slogans like "At Cornell rapists are protected protesters are expelled" and "Smash the patriarchy".

Notably, the predawn incident came ahead of a rally demanding "justice for survivors" by student groups on Monday.

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

After an anonymous student, Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit last month alleging a gang rape at the fraternity Chi Phi, 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 she notes she was pressured to drink and take the drug ketamine, 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.

In practice, 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.

Meanwhile, the case has elicited outcry over how sexual assault is handled on campuses nationwide.

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

In an official note 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 additionally demanded that Cornell's Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards be replaced by a "democratic disciplinary system". Monday's protest, they continued, was designed to draw attention to the systemic failures that allow sexual violence to occur.

For context, 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 confirmed this week it would be appointing a law firm to conduct an independent internal review of how it initially handled the case.

Meanwhile, a transcript, obtained by US media, demonstrates that although no charges were filed, Doe informed campus police at the time that she could "say with 100% confidence I was raped".

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

For now, 'Smash the patriarchy': Activists graffiti Cornell hall over gang rape case remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.