“End Rape Culture” Protest at Cornell Targets President Skorton

Students gathered on Ho Plaza this afternoon to take part in the National Day of Protest Against Rape Culture, during which several Cornell students gave speeches and read poems in order to bring about the end to “Rape Culture.”

Shortly after the event started, it began raining heavily and the event was moved inside Willard Straight Hall, the central campus student union adjacent to Ho Plaza. The poor acoustics of Willard Straight’s main atrium, in addition to the noises of rain, thunder, and incoming and outgoing students, made it difficult to hear the speeches delivered by the event’s three speakers.

The first speaker, pictured below, was Surayya Diggs, who spoke about how many rapists evade punishment or are never prosecuted. Students responded favorably to this first speech, but looked confused when listening to the next speaker, an unidentified male. After he finished, nobody clapped or applauded until he started snapping himself.

After a brief lull in activity, one of the event’s three organizers, Bailey Dineen, read an approximately 9-minute speech/poem (it had qualities of both) that was partly a description personal experience with rape and sexual assault, and partly a full-on attack against rape culture. The speech’s high-point occurred when Dineen said that the institutions that promote rape culture–Cornell, the Justice System, and the “white supremacist, imperialist, capitalist, cisheteropatriarchy”–must be destroyed.

Due to the poor sound quality and surrounding noise, Review correspondents were unable to determine the exact nature of her personal story, but it seemed as if Dineen claimed she, someone close to her, or both, were victims of rape. At several points in the speech, Dineen began to cry, and in the audience several students were seen crying, too. The Review has full video of this speech, and if the video reveals further details about its content we will update this article accordingly, along with posting video.

The protest at Cornell, which drew roughly 100 students, was part of a national campaign to draw attention to Columbia student Emma Sulkowicz, who made national headlines earlier this month with her “Carry That Weight” art project. Sulkowicz has reportedly vowed to carry a mattress with her on campus everyday until her accused rapist is expelled from Columbia. Students at Cornell’s protest were encouraged to bring pillows and mattresses, too.

After the protest concluded, Dineen and fellow event organizer Natalie Nesvaderani spray painted a mattress with text reading “Skorton here is your oral warning/We’re fighting back” along with the number “6.4.” Students affiliated with the protest said the number is in reference to Cornell’s “Prohibited Discrimination, Protected-Status Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Assault and Violence” Policy 6.4. The policy reads that disciplinary action for those accused of sexual assault “may include oral or a written warning.”

A group of five female students then carried the mattress and placed it in front of Day Hall, Cornell’s central administrative building, where President David Skorton’s office is located.

As the five female students began towards Day Hall, after learning that your correspondent was reporting for The Cornell Review, they purposely tried to avoid being followed by taking an indirect path and climbing a small, grassy hill.

The protest was co-sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine, Black Students United, Crunch: The Kinky Club at Cornell, Cornell Organization for Labor Action, the Cornell Progressive, DASH: Direction Action to Stop Heterosexism,Women of Color Coalition, and Grrls Fight Back.