STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Student groups at Cornell University are calling for change in response to what they say was the mishandling of an alleged 2024 sexual assault. On Wednesday, they staged a sit-in and what they called an economic blackout. Reporter Aurora Berry of our member station WSKG is in Ithaca.
AURORA BERRY, BYLINE: Students occupied a dining hall on campus for seven hours in solidarity with the woman referred to as Jane Doe, who reported that she was raped for seven hours by seven male students. They also told students to stop spending money on campus for the day. Kennedy Young is co-president of Black Students United at Cornell, one of the organizations leading the sit-in.
KENNEDY YOUNG: When I think about this day, like, I think about people who are united with me and in community with me on this issue, and I think that's a beautiful thing.
BERRY: She says students held teach-ins, sharing knowledge about domestic violence and Cornell's history of student protests going back to the 1960s. This is the second major protest on Cornell's campus this week. On Monday, hundreds of students marched across campus during a Justice for Survivors rally.
A coalition of campus groups leading the actions at Cornell released a list of demands for the university's administration. They include mandatory sexual assault prevention training for students and trauma-informed training for the university police. The students also want to see minimum sanctions for sexual assault, among other changes. Young says the sit-in provided students with community during a difficult time.
YOUNG: It's just been amazing to be able to look amongst other students and know that even if I know that I'm not being protected by this institution, I'm being protected by students. And I'm being protected by a community that cares for me.
BERRY: But Young says the sit-in was intended to pressure the university to protect its students. Jack Huber is a sophomore at the university. He's also part of Students for a Democratic Cornell, another group involved in the protests. He says Cornell's mishandling of the case is part of a pattern.
JACK HUBER: It is the product of a culture that the administration has enabled, and it is far from the only time that Cornell's justice system has failed its students and even been weaponized against students.
BERRY: He says that Cornell's disciplinary process favors outcomes that look good for the university. His organization wants to see a return to an independent judicial system. Cornell's media relations office did not respond to requests for comment in time for this report.
For NPR News, I'm Aurora Berry in Ithaca. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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