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.

At the rally, Loyola students expressed that their university had repeatedly failed to keep them and their peers safe and called for stronger systems of accountability from their administrators.

Speaking for LUNO SDS, Loyola freshman Jessica Monahan stated, “It is imperative that bodies of authority in our universities hear out and defend people like Jane Doe. Not only because it is their job, but because these people need to be and feel safe speaking out about their experiences.” Monahan continued, “What precedent does it set when sexual predators are made to pay for the trauma and dehumanization they've enacted with mere essays and suspensions?”

Incidents of sexual violence do not exist in isolation and are indeed a part of a wider systemic problem. Juleea Berthelot of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke to the Republican-led effort to roll back Title IX protections.

“The rollbacks put in place are being used to protect the status quo as it exists. The ruling makes it impossible for there to be a real legal pathway to hold fraternities accountable for perpetrating sexual assault on campus and lets rapists know they can commit their crimes with little to no accountability,” Berthelot said.

Berthelot continued, “The rollback lets schools get off the hook for refusing to come to the aid of victims. It defends rich and powerful students from even being accused of rape by demoralizing those who come forward.” Berthelot finished their speech by reminding the crowd that “more people are becoming conscious of the rotten corruption and injustice allowed on campuses,” and “the struggle for socialism will only intensify as more people in the United States are forced to realize it is the only way to truly end rape culture and anti-LGBTQ attacks on campus and in our communities.”

The rally concluded with the final demand to convict the Cornell 57 and for justice for all survivors.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #StudentMovement #SDS #LUNO #WomensMovement #SexualViolence #LGBTQ

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.

Nationwide, one in four women (and one in 14 men) experience sexual violence while attending college.

MNAAC organizer Ashley Taylor-Gouge stated, “In 1989, the UMN campus abruptly shut down the sexual violence center on campus after publishing group-specific sexual assault statistics on campus.”

Taylor-Gouge continued, “The university president said fathers won't want to send their daughters here if they know these numbers.” Eventually, through militant actions like sit-ins and demonstrations, the students fought and won those services back, demonstrating how harshly victims are silenced and what lengths they must go to in order to fight for justice.

Jana Williams, the aunt of Allison Lussier, spoke about her niece’s death in 2024 at the hands of an abusive partner, as well as the inaction of the Minneapolis Police Department in both preventing her death and investigating it, a fate disproportionately common for indigenous women like Allison. Williams declared, “Our bodies are not public property, our bodies are not prizes, our bodies are not something a man gets to claim because he wants them. We are all human beings and we all deserve to be safe.”

Outside of the University’s Athletic Center, MNAAC organizer Envy Matisse told protesters “Back in 2016, ten Gopher football players participated in the gang rape of a female student on this campus. These players were suspended, but no criminal charges were ever brought against them. To make things even worse, the rest of the Gopher football team threatened to boycott one of their games to stand in solidarity with these rapists. The head coach at the time, Tracy Claeys, supported this boycott.”

The march route took protesters past several frat houses on the University of Minnesota’s Fraternity Row, while attendees shouted chants like “We believe survivors! The rapists are the liars!” and “Survivors united will never be defeated!” Instead of joining or chanting with the crowd, members of these houses retreated inside and closed their doors, further proving the necessity of the protest.

The Cornell investigation arises at the same time that the Trump administration is gutting the Title IX protections that are crucial for prosecuting discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual or gender identity. While the Trump administration has targeted transgender people in the name of protecting women, studies show that women’s safety is inextricably linked to the safety of trans people, and that improving the safety of trans and gender non-conforming college students reduces overall sexual violence on campus. Trans people are also more likely to face sexual violence than their cisgender peers and deserve the same protection and paths to justice.

“Freedom to provide or deny consent is an intrinsic part of bodily autonomy, and for too long sexual violence has been overlooked and tolerated—by colleges, governments, and society at large,” said MNAAC member Isabelle Wattenberg. “The bravery of survivors to bring their stories into the spotlight is powerful, and we owe it to them to expose, shame, prosecute and bring their perpetrators to justice.”

MNAAC is a reproductive justice organization that fights for reproductive and trans rights, including abortion access, bodily autonomy and gender-affirming care. SDS is growing the student movement at the University of Minnesota, from protesting for Palestine to fighting for a sanctuary campus. Women's March Minnesota fights for women’s liberation, and Thursday night’s action was part of a National Day of Action to stop sexual violence called by the national Women’s March organization, with over 150 actions across the U.S.

The organizers of the Minneapolis event called for perpetrators, who are almost always men, to face consequences commensurate to their crimes.

Beth Miller is a member of the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC)

#MinneapolisMN #MN #WomensMovement #StudentMovement #Cornell7 #SexualViolence

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.

The ruling class isn’t satisfied with just maintaining the current system that protects rapists and punishes revolutionaries, they want to take things further. The Trump administration has further entrenched women’s and LGBTQ oppression by rolling back Title 9 protections. The legal ruling now only relates to biological sex, making it effectively legal to discriminate against people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity on college campuses that don’t have statewide protections against these forms of discrimination.

The Title 9 changes also affect how schools must respond to sexual misconduct reports on campus, requiring colleges to have courtroom hearings and requiring an even higher standard of proof for sexual assault and harassment. Sexual misconduct was already difficult to discipline students on campus. This ruling makes survivors even less likely to report their attempts. In practice, sexual misconduct and assault are legal on the majority of campuses in the United States.

The Republican party-led attacks on Title 9 are more than a personal vendetta. They aren’t just a tool to use LGBTQ as scapegoats on campus. The rollbacks put in place are being used to protect the status quo as it exists. The ruling makes it impossible for there to be a real legal pathway to hold fraternities accountable, perpetuating sexual assault on campus and letting rapists know they can commit their crimes with little to no accountability. It lets schools get off the hook for refusing to come to the aid of victims. It defends rich and powerful students from even being accused of rape by demoralizing those who come forward. It keeps LGBTQ students in a state of fear and gives chauvinistic university leadership the opportunity to make their lives hell on campus.

In the long term, the rollbacks on Title 9 and the increasing attention on the Cornell 7 case spell doom for the billionaires and multimillionaires who pressure politicians and universities to protect and defend rapists and LGBTQ discrimination on campus. More people are becoming conscious of the rotten corruption and injustice allowed on campuses, and the struggle for socialism will intensify as more people in the United States are forced to realize it is the only way to truly end rape culture and anti-LGBTQ attacks on campus and in our communities.

Justice for Jane Doe! Convict the Cornell 7! End Trump’s attacks on Title 9!

#WomensMovement #LGBTQ #StudentMovement #Cornell #SexualViolence