Pressure mounting on Cornell administration, president over handling of alleged gang rape

Cornell University’s administration and president are facing mounting pressure over the school’s handling ​of an alleged 2024 gang rape that has thrust it into the ​national spotlight and set off a wave of outrage over ‌sexual ​violence on college campuses.

Since Monday, the administration has faced student protests, a no-confidence resolution from faculty, and criticism by alumni. A seven-hour sit-in in support of the alleged victim is planned for Wednesday. Representatives for University President Michael Kotlikoff and Cornell ‌did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kotlikoff released a video statement over the weekend in which he said "we must do better" and the school would take "a serious look at the role of fraternities and sororities in campus life."

Still, calls have mounted among some demonstrators for the resignation of Kotlikoff and members of his administration, blaming ‌their policies for what protesters have described as a "culture of rape" on campus. The demonstrators also want an external inquiry into how Cornell's administration has handled the ‌matter, independent hearings and uniform minimum sanctions for all sexual assaults on campus, as well as better training for campus police in responding to complaints of sexual violence and harassment.

The Cornell Faculty Senate, which represents faculty members in university governance, introduced a resolution this week calling for a no-confidence vote in the administration’s handling of the school’s “ongoing crisis of sexual assault.” The resolution will be debated at the Senate’s ⁠October 14 meeting.

Alumni ​are also voicing concern. In an open ⁠letter to Kotlikoff and the university's Board of Trustees, posted on the Cornell Daily Sun website, alumnus Marco Fuentes wrote that the president and trustees had “single-handedly degraded" the school's reputation and "eroded the value of ⁠the degrees earned by tens of thousands of proud alumni” through their “administrative negligence and spineless handling” of the alleged assault. Fuentes wrote that he will no longer bequeath half his estate to the ​school, and is contacting alumni and donor networks to advocate for a freeze on donations until leadership changes occur.

The outcry began last month with a ⁠lawsuit in which the alleged victim, referred to as "Jane Doe", said she was plied with drugs and alcohol and sexually assaulted by several members of the campus chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024 ⁠after ​she became incapacitated. She reported the alleged assault to police several weeks after the fact, leading to an internal university investigation and a law enforcement probe, but the local prosecutor declined to bring criminal charges in the case.

Cornell, which has defended its response to the original report, shut down the Chi Phi chapter and imposed ⁠a range of discipline on the fraternity members involved, including expulsions and other sanctions. The alleged victim’s lawsuit criticized the university for having offered some of the alleged perpetrators ⁠a chance to mitigate their penalties by ⁠writing essays.

The men all denied any wrongdoing, some saying the sexual activity was consensual and others disputing their participation, the New York Times has reported, citing Cornell documents. Cornell said this week it hired a top former US Justice Department lawyer to conduct ‌an independent review of how Cornell ‌prevents and responds to sexual assault claims.