New Orleans, LA – On October 22, the Liberate and Unite New Orleans chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (LUNO SDS) rallied as part of a national day of action against sexual violence and rape culture on university campuses. The day of action was called in response to the ongoing coverage surrounding the Cornell 57 and rampant sexual violence on college campuses in general.

Minneapolis, MN – Thursday, October 8, the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC), Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota (SDS), and Women’s March MN Action Fund organized a rally and march starting at Van Cleve Park in Minneapolis to call attention to the prevalence of sexual violence on college campuses and to demand justice for survivors.

Around 300 people gathered to hear organizers and community members speak on the prevalence of sexual assault against immigrant and Native American women, about their own experiences with their own sexual assault, and in support of Title IX. Speakers also condemned the actions of the Cornell 7, the entire Chi Phi fraternity, and Cornell’s administration, emphasizing that while the spotlight is currently on Cornell, they are the rule, not the exception.

Fight Back! News Service is circulating the following statement from the Women’s & LGBTQ Work Team of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s LGBTQ and Women’s Work Team strongly condemns the Cornell 7 and the university leadership and police department responsible for protecting the rapists involved since 2024.

This case is just one example of the deeply embedded legal and cultural tools used by universities across the country to protect rapists. While fraternities, reactionaries, racists and bigots are given slaps on the wrist or not held accountable at all, students across the country are facing the threat of expulsion, suspension, or some other form of punishment simply for calling for a Free Palestine or holding a protest on their campus with a megaphone.