Cornell Hires Outside Lawyers to Probe 2024 Fraternity Rape Claim as Pressure Mounts
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 1
Cornell Hires Outside Lawyers to Probe 2024 Fraternity Rape Claim as Pressure Mounts
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 1
Summary
Cornell agreed Wednesday to launch an independent investigation into a woman’s claim that she was raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the move followed a conversation with Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff, as students and politicians pressed the university to explain how the case was handled.
Jane Doe alleged in a lawsuit filed this month that seven men drugged her with alcohol and drugs until she was unconscious, then raped her for hours.
Court filings say she never heard back from campus police or prosecutors after her initial statement, while Cornell said some accused men were expelled and others suspended without detailing individual penalties.
The case has widened into a political and campus reckoning, with The Cornell Daily Sun naming the seven accused men and figures including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemning what they called a permissive culture.