This story will be updated with further information.
Following a week of protests in cities across the country, hundreds of students, faculty members and Ithaca residents protested in the city’s downtown.
Protesters expressed outrage over the university’s handling of an alleged sexual assault at the Chi Phi fraternity chapter in 2024 and urged faculty to issue a vote of no confidence in Cornell's administration.
The protest came on the same day the university banned Greek life events for the rest of the academic year.
Protestors said the measure—along with plans to increase support services for survivors of sexual assault on campus—while helpful, come across as efforts from university administrators to “save face.”
Hundreds gathered on the Ithaca Commons. They chanted “To Jane Doe, we stand with you,” and “To Cornell: We are watching.” Handmade signs such as “Justice 4 Jane Doe” and “End Rape Culture” dotted the crowd.
Sexual assault prevention organizations from across the country and student groups from Ithaca College and Cornell University called for several demands for accountability from top leadership at Cornell and state lawmakers.
The peaceful protest is the latest of several demonstrations in Ithaca within the past two weeks, as rage on campus and across the country continues to bubble since Jane Doe filed a lawsuit nearly one month ago, alleging she was sexually assaulted by a group of men at a fraternity party.
In the civil suit, Jane Doe said she was assaulted in an hours-long encounter involving seven men after being plied with drugs at the Chi Phi fraternity house on Oct. 19, 2024.
Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff said the administration vows to offer “better support” to survivors, and change a “deeply disturbing” culture of drug and alcohol abuse on campus.
“It is clear that women on our campus continue to question whether they are safe,” Kotlikoff wrote in a letter on Oct. 13. “We must meet this moment by acknowledging where we have fallen short and taking meaningful action.”
The protest comes as faculty members at Cornell will hear arguments from colleagues on Wednesday over whether to issue a vote of no confidence in Cornell’s top brass.
The group of faculty and staff in favor of the motion say the university is ill-equipped to adequately address issues of sexual assault on campus. The resolution, up for debate on Wednesday, will hear a second debate on Oct. 28, after which it will be up for a vote.
Hundreds marched to the White House in solidarity with Jane Doe, while similar rallies and protests occurred in Boston, New York City and at other college campuses, including the University of California, Los Angeles.
The protest in Ithaca is the latest in a series of events that students have led or helped organize in recent weeks to express their support for Jane Doe and sexual assault survivors and rage against administrators at Cornell they say failed to protect Doe.
Together with the feminist, gender and sexuality studies department, Cornell students hosted an open town hall last week. And last Wednesday, students skipped class and held a seven-hour sit-in, with some boycotting any purchases at Cornell’s venues and dining halls.
The accused students, some of whom were expelled or suspended, have denied wrongdoing. None have been charged with a crime. Following concern that Tompkins County District Attorney might have dismissed further investigation in 2024 without a full consideration of the evidence, Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to take over the case.
Cornell University declined to comment on the rally.