Several hundreds of students walked out of Lincoln Park High School on Thursday afternoon in solidarity with Jane Doe, the former Cornell University student who alleged she was raped by several members of the Chi Phi fraternity at the Ivy League school in 2024.
The case has drawn widespread attention after the woman filed a lawsuit against Cornell and the seven men accused of raping her. In the lawsuit, she alleges Cornell took insufficient action in response to her initial allegations. The woman filed as “Jane Doe,” common in lawsuits where the accuser doesn’t want their name made public.
The crowd stretched several blocks as students marched from Oz Park through the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Students chanted “No means no” throughout the walk and held signs declaring “Women’s rights are human rights,” “Intoxication is not an invitation” and “If it’s not yes, it’s no.”
Key organizers of the walkout, Isabella Scaffai and Elianna St. Martin, were among the seniors leading the march, while several students gave short speeches throughout the walk. (Scaffai is the daughter of a staff member at WBEZ.)
St. Martin, 17, said the walkout was organized Thursday in support of student walkouts taking place nationally the same day.
“We just want to be a part of that and show our support for all the Jane Does around the world because more people need to speak out about these issues because just staying silent isn’t going to bring the change that we want to happen,” St. Martin said.
Several other students also spoke about sexual violence and standing in solidarity with friends and loved ones who had experienced sexual assault.
Senior Laila Sharda, 17, said the case has made her more critical of Ivy League universities and prompted her to rethink where she wants to attend college.
“It is such an abomination that these Ivy League schools think that they can pay their way out of real issues,” Sharda said. “I want to make sure that I’m in a college that respects me and respects my boundaries.”
Sharda had also been keen on joining Greek life at university, but said the case has made her increasingly skeptical of fraternities and sororities.
Senior Luis Torres, 17, said he believes several of the “Cornell 7” weren’t punished enough by the university.
“It’s completely unjustified how people at Cornell University only had the audacity to just expel two of their kids and make the others write essays,” Torres said. “I find that completely unbelievable.”
Near the end of the march, several students began chanting, “My body,” with the crowd responding, “My choice.”
“We are all Jane Does until no one is Jane Doe,” Scaffai told the crowd.
