<p>An administration building on Cornell University’s campus was vandalized overnight as the investigation into an alleged gang rape at the institution has garnered national attention and sparked backlash on campus.</p>
<p>Around 3 a.m. on Monday, according to the Cornell Sun student newspaper, vandals smashed a glass door at Day Hall, the building home to the university president’s office and other administrative offices. They wrote in red spray paint on the side of the building, “At Cornell rapists are protected protestors are expelled,” and “Smash the patriarchy.”</p>
<p>The vandalism comes as Cornell University was launched into the national spotlight in September, after a woman identified as “Jane Doe” filed a lawsuit in New York against the school and seven members of the school’s Chi Phi fraternity, alleging the seven men raped her in October 2024. Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James to serve as special prosecutor overseeing the investigation, replacing Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, who initially chose not to prosecute the case.</p>
<p>The perpetrators of the vandalism remain anonymous, and no arrests have been announced.</p>
<p>The university’s vice president for university relations, Kylie Kimball, released a statement in response to the vandalism, saying, “We are investigating the vandalism at Day Hall and will address it in accordance with University policy and applicable law.”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>The vandalism occurred hours before student activists prepared to gather to protest the university administration’s handling of the investigation into the alleged gang rape. The scheduled protest, called “Justice for Survivors,” began at Ho Plaza on campus around 4:30 p.m. and was organized by dozens of on-campus student organizations.</p>
<p>“The Cornell Administration upholds a system that allows rape culture to go unpunished,” the protest flyer read. “Cornell and its judicial system have failed Jane Doe and countless other survivors.”</p>
<p>The student organizations made five demands of the university to “ensure that students are protected,” including the expulsion or revocation of degrees of all of the alleged perpetrators of the gang rape and an external investigation into the Cornell administration.</p>
<p>After the university’s investigation, two of the seven fraternity members were expelled from campus, two were suspended, two received no-contact orders, and one was banned from campus, according to the New York Times. None of the men were prosecuted.</p>