![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_7_NOVA_Protest_MJO.JPG\" "\\"From")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
From left to right: Students Eishmel Dort, 21, Sara Ramirez, 21, and Jake Galicia, 20, hold signs during a protest in front of the Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Davie, Fla. Students are protesting the university’s handling of allegations involving a former Cornell University student who is accused in a sexual assault lawsuit.<\/p>\n
Photo by Matias J. Ocner<\/p>\n
mocner@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
A group of Nova Southeastern University students protested Thursday against the recent admission of one of their classmates after piecing together that he was one of seven men accused in a 2024 gang rape case at a Cornell University fraternity house.<\/p>\n
\u201cA majority of our student body is women, and we\u2019re all kind of concerned about his presence and the lack of transparency on whether he is still a student or not,\u201d senior Peter Sader told the Miami Herald. \u201cAnd we\u2019re simply making the statement to publicly show that NSU students stand in support of survivors of sexual assault.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sader was among about a dozen NSU students who carried signs saying \u201cjustice for survivors\u201d and \u201cend victim blaming,\u201d wrote messages in chalk and handed out flyers with sexual assault support resources as they protested in front of the Alvin Sherman Library at the private university\u2019s Davie campus.<\/p>\n
They were upset that NSU\u2019s administrators haven\u2019t been forthcoming enough at a school where female students make up roughly 75% of graduates.<\/p>\n
NSU representatives said Thursday they\u2019re barred from saying much about the admission or discipline of the student in question due to federal privacy laws.<\/p>\n
The student is believed to be 21-year-old Jonathan Newell, one of the seven Cornell fraternity brothers named in a highly publicized New York civil lawsuit filed last month by a former female Cornell student. That student, who is listed as plaintiff Jane Doe in the suit, alleges Newell and six of his Chi Pi brothers raped her after pressuring her to snort ketamine and plied her with marijuana and alcohol in an October 2024 incident at the frat house, the suit says.<\/p>\n
The New York Times identified Newell as one of two students who was expelled<\/a> as a result of the October 2024 incident, in which he\u2019s also accused of writing \u201cfree p—-\u201d in a fraternity group chat. Cornell University would not confirm whether Newell was expelled, citing federal statutes protecting students\u2019 privacy.<\/p>\n Thomas Giuffra, the attorney for the woman who filed the suit, told CBS News his client dropped out<\/a> of Cornell after the incident.<\/p>\n NSU\u2019s president and CEO, Harry K. Moon, said in an Oct. 4 statement that the Broward university didn\u2019t know about the student\u2019s past.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the time of admission, the university was not aware of allegations<\/a> subsequently reported in media,\u201d Moon wrote. \u201cOnce we learned of the reported incident, we acted immediately on behalf of the safety and well-being of our students and the NSU community.\u201d<\/p>\n A university spokesperson declined to share more details about how the school took action, citing federal student privacy laws.<\/p>\n NSU junior Arianna Saldana said she wished her school would take a \u201cstronger stance\u201d to safeguard students after Moon said the administration didn\u2019t know about the allegations.<\/p>\n \u201cI was like, that\u2019s a shock that you\u2019re not looking into the students, and the fact that somebody transferred here with all this stuff going on,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The protesters showed up in the hot midday sun not only to object to a particular case but to stand in solidarity with sexual assault survivors.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that it\u2019s wonderful to see that there\u2019s a lot of students that are willing to stand up for change, and they agree that we shouldn\u2019t be allowing this to happen,\u201d Saldana said.<\/p>\n Senior Gabriella Flora, who helped organize the demonstration, said she didn\u2019t know Newell but was one of many who learned he may have attended her school via Fizz, an anonymous college campus app that requires an .edu email to join.<\/p>\n One poster circulated a photo of Newell at campus orientation alongside a photo that came out during the aftermath of the lawsuit.<\/p>\n The Tompkins County District Attorney in New York opted not to pursue criminal charges, but after outrage arose from the lawsuit\u2019s filing in September, the governor tapped New York State Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to take over the investigation, which the DA had reopened after the suit.<\/p>\n \u201cI know several of my friends have had him at their homes, during parties and stuff, and they had actually mentioned that he was a very rude kind of individual, like not a great guy \u2026\u201d Flora said.<\/p>\n An NSU student confirmed to the Herald in a previous interview that an email registered under the name Jonathan Newell that previously appeared in a school directory has since disappeared.<\/p>\n One major question surrounding the issue is what NSU knew about Newell, a 2023 graduate of the college prep school affiliated with NSU and is often referred to as USchool<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to NSU\u2019s page for transfer applicants<\/a>, prospective students can go through a preliminary application review with just an unofficial transcript, but students must submit their official transcripts when they enroll.<\/p>\n![\"Psychology](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_5_NOVA_Protest_MJO.JPG\" "\\"MIA_5_NOVA_Protest_MJO.JPG\\"")
Psychology student Madelynn Parrish, 18, writes messages during a protest in front of the Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Davie, Fla. Students are protesting the university’s handling of allegations involving a former Cornell University student who is accused in a sexual assault lawsuit. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
![\"Activists](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_3_NOVA_Protest_MJO.JPG\" "\\"MIA_3_NOVA_Protest_MJO.JPG\\"")
Activists use chalk to write messages during a protest in front of the Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Davie, Fla. Students are protesting the university’s handling of allegations involving a former Cornell University student who is accused in a sexual assault lawsuit. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n