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Dark cloud over Cornell after resurfaced 2024 rape allegation

newsOct 2, 202634801

Allegations that a woman known as Jane Doe was drugged and gang raped at a Cornell fraternity in October 2024 resurfaced after she filed a civil lawsuit on 16 September accusing the university of failing to protect her or punish the men involved, dubbed the Cornell Seven. Students and faculty told the BBC the resurfaced case has cast a "dark cloud" over campus, with undergraduate Sophia Riley Sim saying at a packed student assembly "We deserve to know that our institution values our safety more than its reputation." Cornell says it already conducted an extensive investigation that lasted several months and that a hearing panel issued a range of sanctions including expulsions and suspensions. The university has agreed to an independent investigation into the allegation. New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed State Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor after saying she had lost faith in Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, whose office had earlier concluded evidence initially did not meet the threshold for charges before reopening the criminal probe. Student organisers are advertising a "Justice for Survivors" protest for 5 October and are demanding expulsions, degree revocations, rewritten sexual assault punishment policies, an external review of Cornell, and mandated prevention training for campus police. The developments have intensified scrutiny of fraternity culture and Cornell's reporting and response systems, and have left many students too distressed to attend classes.

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