Student Journalists Lead Demanding Charge in Cornell University Assault Case

On Wednesday, September 30, global headlines highlighted rare dissent in Iran, the harrowing release of a jailed journalist, and a fierce local battle over transparency at Cornell University.

In Iran, university students and prisoners have staged rare protests against the country’s compulsory hijab laws and the death penalty. Radio Free Europe reports that students rallied against the hijab law, calling for the release of imprisoned classmates and highlighting poor campus living conditions. Meanwhile, inmates across 66 prisons joined the “No to executions Tuesdays” campaign, holding weekly hunger strikes to demand the absolute abolition of the death penalty. These protests represent a rare show of coordinated dissent following a severe government crackdown earlier this year.

Elsewhere, The New York Times interviewed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich about his 16 months imprisoned in Russia, detailing the extreme physical and psychological constraints of his tiny cell. Gershkovich, who was released in a US-Russian prisoner swap, described enduring panic attacks, anger, and sleepless nights. He has since channeled his experience, alongside the broader Russian population’s struggles, into his new memoir, This cursed beautiful land.

Stateside, a major development has unfolded at Cornell University, where a gang rape investigation has been reopened in response to a lawsuit filed by a student. The New York Times reports that the

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