Organized by Badgers Against Sexual Assault, the event featured chants of “Consent is mandatory” and speakers who urged attendees to support survivors without judgment. Senior Sophie Harrison, one of the organizers, told the crowd that survivors should not be blamed for what happened to them. “It’s not your fault,” she said, addressing people who may have fought back, frozen, been drinking or been asleep.

The group’s five demands include consent education for all incoming students; sexual violence prevention and de-escalation training for city bars; sexual violence education each semester at fraternities and sororities; tougher suspensions for fraternities facing sexual assault allegations; and greater transparency about campus assault statistics and disciplinary actions.

Speakers also referred to two reported sexual assault and drugging incidents at UW-Madison the previous month, as well as a high-profile assault case at Cornell University. The rally included information tables for University Health Services and the RCC Sexual Violence Resource Center, a local nonprofit that supports survivors and provides education and outreach. Attendees could leave anonymous statements; one, read aloud, described an assault at a fraternity in January and the person’s decision not to speak about it immediately. A local band, Cause and Control, performed after the rally, which also raised funds for RCC.

In a message to students the previous week, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor said the university would establish a violence-prevention position within its Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. University Health Services also plans to send all students a campus sexual assault climate survey in the spring to inform policy and support efforts.

At an Oct. 5 campus meeting, interim Chancellor Eric Wilcots said student health and well-being was a top priority and that sexual harassment reports are handled seriously and investigated thoroughly. He also acknowledged that the university could improve its systems.

UW-Madison’s 2025 security report recorded nine rapes on campus or on property owned by a student organization or an institution affiliated with the university. Eight occurred on campus, including four in university-run residences. The report also listed 10 cases of fondling, 11 of domestic violence, five of dating violence and 52 of stalking. It cautioned that the figures do not show whether cases led to prosecutions, convictions or university disciplinary outcomes.