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 following allegations about a 2024 gang rape at a local fraternity.
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backlash → shatter → fraternity
In the early hours of Monday, the glass panes on an entrance door for the building, Day Hall, were smashed, leaving shards strewn across the floor.
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panes → smash → floor
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investigation → reopen → items-
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punishment → fit → crime
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Activists, outraged at the school’s handling of the case, also graffitied nearby walls with slogans like “At Cornell rapists are protected protesters are expelled” and “Smash the patriarchy”.
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protesters → erupt → patriarchy
The predawn incident came ahead of a rally demanding “justice for survivors” by student groups on Monday.
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incident → come → Monday
Cornell spokesperson Kyle Kimball said Monday that the university was investigating the vandalism.
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university → say → vandalism
“We understand the frustration and strong emotions being expressed across our community,” Kimball said.
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Kimball → understand → community
“Those concerns deserve to be heard, but damaging property is not the answer.”
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damaging → deserve → property
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 an anonymous student, Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit last month alleging a gang rape at the fraternity Chi Phi.
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student → file → fraternity
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, after she says she was pressured to drink and take the drug ketamine.
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she → accuse → drug
The fraternity, Cornell University and others are named as co-defendants in the suit.
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fraternity → name → suit
Lawyers for two of the former students have rejected claims that they participated in sexual assault.
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they → reject → assault
The case has elicited outcry over how sexual assault is handled on campuses across the country.
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assault → elicit → country
At Monday’s demonstration, students demanded an overhaul of the university’s sexual assault complaint process, the termination of certain school officials and stricter disciplinary action against alleged abusers.
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students → demand → abusers
In a statement 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”.
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they → write → rape
They also demanded that Cornell’s Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards be replaced by a “democratic disciplinary system”.
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Office → demand → system
Monday’s protest, they added, was designed to draw attention to the systemic failures that allow sexual violence to occur.
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violence → add → failures
“We wanted to ensure that Day Hall, the centre of Cornell’s administrative function, was not able to continue business as usual,” the students told the campus paper.
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students → want → paper
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”.
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they → allege → country
Under pressure by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, the university announced this week it would be appointing a law firm to conduct an independent internal review of how it initially handled the case.
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it → announce → case
A transcript, obtained by US media, shows that although no charges were filed, Doe told campus police at the time that she could “say with 100% confidence I was raped”.
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I → obtain → confidence
Her lawsuit also alleges that Cornell “afforded” the accused fraternity members “the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays” to the school.
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Cornell → allege → school
Two were later expelled, and another two were suspended.
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two → expel → ?
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