Two of seven Chi Phi members expelled after 2024 incident
Student activists vandalized Cornell University’s administrative building overnight, smashing a glass door at the entrance to Day Hall and painting messages in red paint on the walls surrounding it, the Cornell Daily Sun reported. The vandalism occurred at approximately 3 a.m. Monday.
The messages read “SMASH THE PATRIARCHY” and “AT CORNELL RAPISTS ARE PROTECTED PROTESTORS ARE EXPELLED.” A security camera above one of the messages was painted over, the student newspaper reported.
The activists identified their motivation in a statement obtained by the Cornell Daily Sun as “a recent lawsuit alleging a 2024 fraternity-house gang rape and in protest of the global systems of power that allowed this to happen in the first place.” The statement added: “We wanted to ensure that Day Hall, the center of Cornell’s administrative function, was not able to continue business as usual.”
In a separate manifesto, the student activists defended their actions as nonviolent. “We reject the dogma that would condemn our actions this morning as violent while excusing rape,” they wrote. “Property damage is not violent; condoning rape is.”
Cornell spokesperson Kyle Kimball acknowledged the community’s concerns but condemned the property damage. “We understand the frustration and strong emotions being expressed across our community. Those concerns deserve to be heard, but damaging property is not the answer,” Kimball said. “We are investigating the vandalism at Day Hall and will address it in accordance with University policy and applicable law.”
The underlying case stems from a civil lawsuit filed earlier in September alleging that a student was drugged and repeatedly raped over the course of seven hours at a Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024. The woman was 20 at the time of the alleged assault.
According to the plaintiff’s lawyers, only two of the seven Chi Phi members named in the suit were expelled by the university. The other five were made to write essays, attend workshops, or serve short suspensions, the lawyers said. None of the seven were arrested, according to the lawyers. The New York Times has reported that the accused men have denied all wrongdoing.
The Tompkins County district attorney, Matthew Van Houten, said his office was reviewing the case again after the woman’s civil lawsuit presented allegations that were “dramatically different” from the statement she gave to police two years ago.
On Thursday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she was appointing state Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to investigate the alleged assault at Cornell. In a video message on Saturday, Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff said the school would take steps to prevent a similar situation in the future, including “a serious look at the role of fraternities and sororities in campus life.”
Protests led by student activist groups are expected on campus Monday, the Guardian reported.