Twenty student organizations at Cornell will host a “Justice for Survivors” protest calling for sexual assault prevention at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 5 on Ho Plaza.
The protest comes after a former Cornell student, identified as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit against the University, Chi Phi and others on Sept. 14, alleging that she was sexually assaulted and gang raped after being coerced into consuming drugs at Cornell’s Chi Phi house in 2024. The district attorney for Tompkins County reopened a criminal investigation into the case on Monday.
“The Cornell Administration upholds a system that allows rape culture to go unpunished,” reads a joint Instagram post about the event published by Students for a Democratic Cornell.
In addition to SDC, Planned Parenthood Generation Action at Cornell, Cornell NAACP, Movimiento Estudiantil Progressive Action, Committee on U.S.-Latin American Relations and the American Civil Liberties Union Chapter at Cornell, planned the protest to “hold our university accountable,” according to the post.
The organizers demand that Cornell expel or revoke all of the alleged assaulters and implement mandatory sexual assault trainings for all students and trauma-informed trainings for the Cornell University Police Department, according to the Instagram post.
“Cornell, our time for action is now,” SDC wrote in a joint Instagram post announcing the protest. “We demand justice for Jane Doe, and for ourselves. For too long administration has normalized the violation of students and our rights. We won’t stand for this anymore.”
The organizations also demand an external investigation into Cornell’s handling of the case and a return to a University judicial system independent of administration.
The demand for an external investigation into administration comes after Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) called for a “transparent, independent review” of the University’s response to the alleged 2024 gang rape on Tuesday.
The call for an independent judicial system comes after the University shifted oversight of student conduct from an independent office overseen by the University Assembly to the University-run Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards in 2021. In December 2025, a Student Assembly referendum calling for the return to an independent judicial system passed with 91.7% of the more than 3,000 student votes.
The demands also ask Cornell to revise Policy 6.4, which addresses sexual misconduct, to require “independent hearings and minimum sanctions” in sexual assault cases.
Currently, under Policy 6.4, reports of sexual misconduct are adjudicated through Cornell’s Title IX office, housed within the Cornell Office of Civil Rights. A Title IX coordinator will begin an investigation “as appropriate” after a formal complaint is submitted, according to Section 7.1 of the policy.
If the respondent is found responsible by a hearing panel composed of faculty and staff selected by the University, they could face sanctions ranging from oral warnings and written reprimands to suspension or expulsion, according to Section 26.11 of Policy 6.4.
Another demand calls for the University to comply with New York’s “Enough is Enough” law, which aims to address sexual assault on university campuses by requiring universities in New York to adopt “a set of comprehensive procedures and guidelines” and implement campus climate surveys and “prevention and awareness training.”
The organizations’ post also provides information for three support resources related to the issue: Rainn’s National Sexual Assault Hotline, the Advocacy Center of Tompkins County and Cornell Sexual Harassment & Assault—Response & Education.
“This is a critical moment for students to stand together and support survivors of sexual assault at Cornell and universities across the world,” Spencer Krenk ’29, a member of SDC, wrote to The Sun. “The Cornell administration has repeatedly demonstrated their inability to protect and support us, the students. We want students, faculty, and staff all there on Monday to make it clear that our community will not tolerate the injustice any longer.”
“Justice for Survivors” is not the only protest planned on campus regarding the alleged gang rape and drugging case. Six social media advocates unaffiliated with Cornell are hosting a “grassroots rally” on Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. The rally will take place at 100 N. Tioga St, according to a more recent post.
“Cornell kept known rapists in their university,” the organizers wrote in a joint Instagram post. “We demand answers!”
“[O]ur lead organizers saw no other rally has been organized yet and decided to jump into action,” Finley Muratova, one of the rally organizers, wrote to The Sun.
The Oct. 13 protest was not organized in conjunction with students, Krenk wrote to The Sun.
“This protest was organized by outside influencers and not Cornell students,” Krenk wrote. “They did not reach out to any student organizations before announcing a date when most students will be off campus for fall break. Students should still feel free to go but the organizers do not represent our community's interests or demands for change at Cornell University.”
Muratova wrote to The Sun that the organizers of the Oct. 13 rally have been in communication with students, alumni, staff and Ithacans.
“[S]tudents represent the beating heart of Cornell, and their words matter most when it comes to changing things on their campus,” Muratova wrote. “[W]e’re trying to bring the rally a bit outside of the campus and into the larger community.”
Coral Platt is a member of the Class of 2029 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a news editor for the 144th Editorial Board and can be reached at cplatt@cornellsun.com.
