A rally was scheduled for Friday evening at Library Mall, where survivors were expected to share stories and attendees planned to demand stronger sexual violence prevention measures at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The rally was planned as a space for survivors to share stories.
The gathering, covered by WKOW, was planned as a space for survivors to share stories. The rally came weeks after UW-Madison issued campus alerts saying it had received two reports from students alleging drugging and sexual assault connected to off-campus fraternity houses and a residence hall, detailed in Hoodline's earlier report on the fraternity alerts.
Those alerts followed a separate case just days earlier, when Madison police raided an unrecognized Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house on Langdon Street and arrested two 20-year-old student leaders on hazing charges, according to Hoodline's prior coverage of the Langdon Street raid. Officers reportedly found nearly 30 pledges in a heated basement with visible physical injuries after an anonymous tip about forced pledge activities.
University Announces New Prevention Role
Days before the rally, UW-Madison Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor announced the university is creating a dedicated University Health Services violence prevention position embedded within the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, according to The Daily Cardinal. The role is meant to focus specifically on sexual violence, hazing, and high-risk drinking within Greek life.
The university also plans to conduct a new campus sexual assault climate survey in spring 2027, per WKOW's reporting. The last AAU Campus Climate Survey was conducted in 2019.
What the Numbers Show
UW-Madison's 2026 Annual Security Report shows a more complicated trend: campus authorities recorded nine reports of rape in 2025, down from 21 in 2024 and 14 in 2023, even as reports of stalking and hate crimes increased over the same period, The Daily Cardinal reported. The Clery Act requires universities to disclose crime statistics.
Donations from the rally were set to go to the Dane County Rape Crisis Center.
Reporting Options
Questions about consent can arise in allegations involving drugging, including those reported on campus this fall.
UW-Madison students can use the Sexual Misconduct Resource and Response Program for reporting options and University Health Services Survivor Services for confidential advocacy, according to the UW-Madison Office of Compliance.
Part of a Wider Campus Movement
The Library Mall rally is not an isolated event. It lands amid a broader wave of campus sexual violence protests nationwide this month, including student walkouts and marches at Columbia, Brown, and Cornell universities, a trend Hoodline has tracked in its coverage of student-led demonstrations at Brown.
At UW-Madison, the university has announced concrete steps — the new Greek life prevention position and the planned 2027 climate survey — while Friday's planned rally called for stronger sexual violence prevention measures.
