More Than 100 Rally at Harvard, Demand Stronger Protections Against Sexual Violence

More than 100 Harvard affiliates gathered in Harvard’s Zimmer Hall Plaza Thursday night to protest sexual violence, calling on the University to strengthen protections for survivors and reform its handling of harassment complaints.

The rally was part of a nationwide day of action calling for justice for Jane Doe, a former Cornell University student, and Kendall D. Francis, a Louisiana State University student, who have both alleged sexual assault.

Organizers at Harvard also issued six demands, including an independent grievance process for harassment and discrimination complaints, expanded resources for survivors, and the reopening of two diversity offices shuttered in July 2025.

Last month, Doe sued Cornell and seven fraternity members, alleging that she was drugged and raped at an October 2024 party. The allegations prompted New York Governor Kathy M. Hochul to appoint Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to investigate the case. No criminal charges have been filed.

At LSU, Francis accused a football player of raping her in October 2025. The university found the player responsible for sexual assault through its Title IX process, but reduced his punishment from a two-semester suspension to four semesters of disciplinary probation on appeal.

Thursday’s demonstration drew members of the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, Student Labor Action Movement, Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Auto Workers, and Harvard Undergraduate Monarch Coalition. Protesters delivered speeches and chanted against sexual violence before marching to the Smith Campus Center for a vigil.

Erta K. Ismahili ’29, who emceed the event, said participants had gathered to support survivors and call attention to what she described as a lack of accountability.

“We are here in unity and solidarity to uplift the survivors of sexual violence and bring awareness to what they’ve experienced,” she said. “Today we will be chanting, providing space for outrage and awareness at the lack of accountability for all.”

Asia Foland ’29, who helped organize the demonstration, said she hoped it would both offer support to survivors and put pressure on Harvard.

“This is a space for survivors to feel like they have a community, that Harvard cares about them,” Foland said. “But there are also reasons that we’re here, and there are demands that we want to make to Harvard and across the nation overall.”

Natalie Granda ’30, another speaker, argued that institutions beyond Cornell had failed to adequately address sexual violence.

“Today, we demand a country where sexual predators do not rely on institutional violence or social acceptance,” she said. “Cornell is not an isolated story. Harvard is not an isolated story.”

Several demands are similar in nature to proposals put forward by HGSU in its ongoing contract negotiations with the University, including asking Harvard to publicly commit to refusing cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Organizers also called for Harvard to redirect at least $8.9 million toward survivor support and legal assistance, citing the $9.1 million the University received from convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein. They demanded that any affiliates named in the Epstein files, including former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers, be barred from teaching or receiving University resources.

Summers announced in February that he would leave his Harvard appointments at the end of the academic year after messages showed he discussed his professional, personal, and romantic life with Epstein years after the financier’s 2008 conviction.

Harvard also placed Mathematics professor Martin A. Nowak on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation into his Epstein ties.

The rally came days after Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra addressed the recent sexual assault cases at a Tuesday faculty meeting, calling the description of the incident “horrific.” Hoekstra was the first Harvard administrator to publicly comment on the case.

In an Oct. 1 op-ed in The Crimson, an anonymous student wrote that they had been sexually assaulted during their first week at Harvard and called for greater awareness of sexual violence on campus. The Harvard University Police Department’s annual security report recorded 12 reports of rape in 2025, up from seven in 2024 but down from 17 in 2023.

Graduate student Rachel E. McVeigh said the op-ed was her primary reason for attending Thursday’s rally.

“We are in 2026. This should not be happening,” McVeigh said. “It’s part of our fight as grad students. It’s also across the university. It’s for everyone.”

—Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at sbc.23. Follow him on X @SebastianC4784.

—Staff writer Summer E. Rose can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ser.85. Follow her on X @summerellenrose.