Student activists vandalized Day Hall, an administrative building at Cornell University, early Monday morning by breaking a glass door and painting messages protesting the university's handling of recent gang-rape allegations. The slogans included “SMASH THE PATRIARCHY” and criticized Cornell for protecting alleged rapists while expelling protestors. Activists claimed their actions were nonviolent and in response to perceived leniency towards perpetrators, such as short suspensions rather than arrests or expulsion. Cornell spokesperson Kyle Kimball condemned the vandalism but acknowledged the community's frustration over the handling of the case.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.65, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 2 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 58439: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-05
Student activists vandalized a Cornell University administration building overnight in response to the university’s handling of gang-rape allegations in a high-profile case that has dominated national news.
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that → vandalize → news
Students smashed a glass door at the entrance of Day Hall and painted messages on the walls at approximately 3am on Monday, the Cornell Daily Sun reported.
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Sun → smash → Monday
The messages, which read “SMASH THE PATRIARCHY” and “AT CORNELL RAPISTS ARE PROTECTED PROTESTORS ARE EXPELLED,” were written in red paint on the two walls surrounding the doors.
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PROTESTORS → read → doors
The security camera above one of the messages was also painted over.
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camera → paint → messages
The actions were driven by 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”, according to a statement obtained by the student publication.
“We wanted to ensure that Day Hall, the center of Cornell’s administrative function, was not able to continue business as usual,” the statement added.
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statement → drive → business
A Cornell spokesperson, Kyle Kimball, said in a statement that the concerns of the community were being heard, but condemned damaging school property.
“We understand the frustration and strong emotions being expressed across our community.
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We → say → community
Those concerns deserve to be heard, but damaging property is not the answer,” Kimball said.
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Kimball → deserve → property
“We are investigating the vandalism at Day Hall and will address it in accordance with University policy and applicable law.”
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We → investigate → policy
The student activists defended their actions as nonviolent, in a manifesto obtained by the student publication.
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activists → defend → publication
“We reject the dogma that would condemn our actions this morning as violent while excusing rape,” they wrote.
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they → reject → rape
“Property damage is not violent; condoning rape is.”
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condoning → condone → rape
Protests led by student activist groups are expected to take place on campus today.
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Protests → lead → campus
Meanwhile, Cornell is under immense scrutiny after an outcry over “leniency” shown to seven fraternity members named as the perpetrators.
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Cornell → show → perpetrators
According to lawyers for the student, who filed a civil lawsuit against the university and her alleged attackers earlier in September, only two members of the Chi Phi fraternity were expelled after the October 2024 incident, in which she said she was drugged and repeatedly raped over the course of seven hours.
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she → accord → hours
None of the seven were arrested, they said, and the others were made to write essays, attend workshops or serve short suspensions.
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others → arrest → suspensions
The accused men have denied all wrongdoing, the New York Times has reported.
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Times → accuse → wrongdoing
Matthew Van Houten, the Tompkins county district attorney, said his office was looking again at the case, after the woman, who was 20 at the time of the alleged assault, presented allegations in her lawsuit that were “dramatically different” from the statement she gave to police two years ago.
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she → say → police
Kathy Hochul, the New York governor, said on Thursday she was appointing Letitia James, the state’s attorney general, as special prosecutor to investigate the alleged gang rape at Cornell University.
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she → say → University
Additionally, in a video message on Saturday, the Cornell University president, Michael Kotlikoff, said the school would take steps to prevent a similar situation in the future.
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school → say → future
That included “a serious look at the role of fraternities and sororities in campus life”, Kotlikoff said.
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Kotlikoff → include → life
The Aporia
