‘We want accountability’: ‘Epstein Off Campus’ protests Barnard donor Francine LeFrak’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein
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Students gathered to protest LeFrak’s affiliation with Barnard College following reports of communication between her and associates of Jeffrey Epstein. Attendees also demanded that Barnard sever ties with LeFrak and increase transparency regarding connections between College affiliates and Epstein.
Photo by Vernon Demir/The Barnard Bulletin
March 11, 2026
Around 15 protesters gathered in front of Barnard’s main gates on Tuesday, calling on the College to cut ties with individuals who were found to have connections with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Organized by the Columbia chapter of “Epstein Off Campus,” the demonstration began around 3:15 p.m. when protesters assembled along Broadway outside Barnard’s main entrance. New York Police Department officers placed barricades in front of the gates and along the sidewalk.
Organizers focused much of their criticism on Barnard trustee Francine LeFrak, who was named in the Epstein files and whose foundation financed the College’s Center for Well-Being in 2024. Protesters outlined five demands: remove LeFrak from the Board of Trustees; rename the Francine A. LeFrak Foundation Center for Well-Being; sever ties with other Barnard affiliates allegedly connected to Epstein, including the Milstein and Blankfein families; disclose what organizers described as “unbiased information” regarding Barnard’s connections to Epstein; and restore funding to the Barnard Center for Research on Women.
“How can the wellness center that claims to provide a safe haven for Barnard students — mentally and physically — be named after Francine Lefrak?” questioned Addie Turek (BC ’29). “How can it house the center for sexual violence response while it’s named after a woman [who] cozies up next to sexual predators?”
A speaker who identified themself as a member of the bargaining committee for the Student Workers of Columbia connected the protest to broader concerns about institutional accountability at both Barnard and Columbia. The speaker claimed that complaints from students, faculty, and staff are often redirected to different committees and administrators so the institutions would avoid accountability.
“[Columbia and Barnard], with [their] full chest, will look at us straight in the eye and tell us that their processes work,” the speaker said. “At every turn — sexual violence, disability discrimination, racism, sexism — they told us to go to another University committee, another working group, another report… ‘We’ll look into it,’ they say. We want accountability now.”
On February 27, the chair of Barnard’s Board of Trustees Laura Blankfein and President Laura Rosenbury sent an email stating an independent review did not find evidence that “any current representative of the College engaged in any wrongdoing or activities at odds with Barnard’s mission and values.”
A speaker identified as Claudia (BC ’27) criticized the administration’s lack of transparency regarding the relationships of Barnard affiliates with Epstein and his associates. “I find it completely unacceptable that they continue to lie to their students and their community,” they said.
Claudia also referenced Barnard placing last in the 2025 Foundation for Individual Rights in Education college and university rankings, arguing that the College’s response to student activism discourages political organizing on campus.
“They can keep suspending students, they can keep expelling students, they can keep intimidating students,” they said. “But students aren’t going to stop showing up.”
Throughout the demonstration, protesters chanted slogans including “Francine LeFrak has got to go” and “Trustees tied to Epstein’s crimes, Francine LeFrak, resign this time.”
One protester who identified themself as a Barnard first-year expressed their disappointment in the protest’s turnout.
“It’s really sad,” they commented. “Everyone at Barnard protests at Columbia, but people at Columbia never come over and protest for us at Barnard.”
The protest concluded at approximately 3:50 p.m., and participants dispersed without incident.
