U of A protesters support Cornell's 'Jane Doe,' decry 'rape culture'

Speakers at the Thursday rally at UA, including students with various advocacy groups on campus, spoke out against what they called “rape culture,” and criticized the general responses of universities, police and legal systems around the country to sexual assault allegations.

“We are here today because recently, a former Cornell University student identified as Jane Doe sued the school and fraternity members because they failed to protect her and prevent her sexual assault,” said Arian Chavez, a member of the UA group Students for Socialism.

“After Jane Doe reported her assault by seven fraternity men to the (Cornell) university police, only two were expelled and others were suspended or assigned workshops and essays,” he shouted to the crowd, which continually erupted into applause and shouts of “shame.”

“Zero charges or arrests were made,” Chavez said. “And then, in Louisiana State University, they failed a student named Kendall Francis in their response to her alleged assault by a football player named Damien Shanklin because of his status at LSU. … These horrifying cases from Cornell and LSU highlight how patriarchy and abusers are protected, and gender-based violence is perpetrated at every level of our society.” Shanklin has denied the claim and has not been criminally charged. 

Cornell's “Jane Doe” filed a civil lawsuit last month in her case, saying she was drugged, severely intoxicated and unable to provide legal consent in the 2024 incident in which she says she was sexually assaulted by seven men at a fraternity house. That led authorities to reopen investigations into the case, which has brought public scrutiny to the ways sexual assault reports at universities around the country are handled and prosecuted.

Four of the men in the Cornell case have said they had consensual sex with "Jane Doe," while the other three have denied sexual contact with her in the incident. None have been charged.  

The UA protest, which organizers titled “Stop Sexual Violence,” was one of numerous rallies, walkouts and vigils planned in communities and on college campuses in more than 40 states on Thursday in support of "Jane Doe."

The speeches at UA’s rally were followed by protesters marching across the UA Mall and to Greek Row, a row of fraternity and sorority houses primarily running along East First and Second streets.

This protest came days after the UA Dean of Students Office announced it was placing all Interfraternity Chapters on an interim activities suspension after receiving “multiple reports of misconduct” and of “egregious” behavior involving nearly half of the UA's 21 fraternities since the fall semester began seven weeks ago. The notice came after several chapters were disciplined earlier this year for serious hazing violations.

Dean of Students Chrissy Lieberman has said certain allegations and cases are also under criminal investigation, but did not elaborate.

There is no indication that any of the fraternity cases at UA this year involved allegations of sexual assault or sexual misconduct.

Addressing hazing incidents earlier this year, UA Chief Academic Officer and Provost Patricia Prelock said, “Every student deserves to belong to organizations that build leadership, character and lifelong friendships in a safe environment. The overwhelming majority of our student organizations reflect those values every day. Those that do not will be thoroughly investigated and held accountable.

"Hazing has no place at the U of A, and we will continue investing in prevention, education and accountability to protect our students and strengthen a campus culture built on safety, respect and belonging," she said. 

'You are not alone'

At the Thursday rally, UA student Alissa Birch told the crowd she was recently sexually assaulted.

“Our institutions continually try to silence victims from speaking out, and I’m tired. I’m disgusted with the system,” Birch said.

“Our police and legal system are bordering heavily on incompetence, and it disgusts me that with or without proof, dangerous men who continue these cycles of assault are encouraging and allowing other men to continue,” she continued, her voice nearly breaking at many points.

“To anyone who has experienced heterosexual-based harassment, discrimination, and/or violence, I believe you," Birch said. "We believe you. You are not alone, and your safety and your future are more important than the protection of these institutions.”

Ari Rubio, a UA freshman who attended the rally, said the Cornell case is “horrific.”

“I’m sure there are a lot of fraternities that are trying to push better views out there and aren’t all horrible,” she said. “But from what I’ve seen in the media, I’ve never really heard anything good about them per se. It’s always been a lot of hazing, a lot of drugs, a lot of alcohol, lots of sex, lots of rape, and a lot of that just needs to be put down.”

The Star reached out later Thursday through an email to Greek Life representatives at the UA to give them an opportunity to comment; they did not immediately respond.

As the crowd marched across Greek Row, rally participants shouted chants including, “I’m Jane Doe,” “Gender violence we say no,” “Hey hey, ho ho, sexism has got to go,” “Survivors united, will never be defeated;” “Whatever we wear, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no,” and more.

They also carried placards and signs with slogans including “From the frat house to the White House, the whole system is sexist” and “A woman’s place is in the struggle."

'Heart is sickened'

Brandon Rogers, a member of the UA chapter of Iota Phi Theta fraternity and a junior student, said with everything happening at Cornell University, “the fire has become pointed at Greek life across this country, and for good damn reason.” He said as a fraternity member and a man on a college campus, his “heart is sickened” by what he sees going on in other organizations across the country.

Seven Cornell students “were allowed to stay as students at their university when the woman that they monstrously assaulted for seven hours was forced to leave her campus, to end her academic career, and to continue to pay tuition at Cornell University for an extra semester,” Rogers bellowed into the crowd.

“The tragedy did not begin when Jane Doe walked into the Chi Phi house, but on the day her rapists were born into a culture where women’s autonomy, women’s dignity, and women’s humanity were denied. Men are born, raised, and allowed to thrive in a rape culture,” he said as the crowd continued shouting “shame.”

Alyssa Norris, a member of FORCE or Feminists Organized to Resist Create and Empower at the UA, spoke to the crowd about a “Red Zone” of sexual assaults, a period of time between the start of the fall semester and Thanksgiving break when the majority of sexual assaults reported on college campuses occur, according to a 2024 article by Johns Hopkins University.

“First-year undergraduate students, especially women and transgender students, are at the highest risk,” Norris said. “The timing of these incidents is not coincidental. These incidents align with higher Greek life activity and countless back-to-school parties. Universities will perform public shock and dismay while they refuse to invest in prevention measures. They silence and blame victims, and survivors end up facing more consequences than their own perpetrators. Survivors are forced to be the ones who put their own education on hold.”

Norris said the Cornell incident isn’t isolated.

“We have to replace rape culture with a culture of consent," she said.