Students protested the university’s handling of sexual assault complaints as a lawsuit by a former student alleges a gang rape at a fraternity house in 2024.
On Wednesday, October 7, some students gathered in a campus dining hall and said they would not spend money on campus. Some sat without eating while others displayed signs supporting the plaintiff, who filed suit under the name Jane Doe. Organizers planned to keep the sit-in going for seven hours.
In a lawsuit filed last month against Cornell, the Chi Phi fraternity and several men, the student alleges that fraternity members gave her alcohol and drugs in October 2024, after which several people sexually assaulted her. The complaint says one man sent others a message inviting them to take part. These are allegations in a lawsuit, not findings established by a court.
Lawyers for two defendants denied that their clients participated in a sexual assault. Men who went through a university disciplinary hearing in 2024 told investigators that the sexual activity was consensual or said they were not involved. The student went to Cornell police in November 2024, but no criminal charges resulted. The state attorney general reopened a criminal investigation after the lawsuit was filed.
Protesters called for changes to disciplinary procedures and for the expulsion or revocation of degrees of people they believe were involved in the alleged assault. Cornell said it closed the campus chapter of Chi Phi in 2024 and expelled some students while suspending others after a Title IX investigation. This week, university trustees brought in former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to review the school’s handling of sexual assault and harassment complaints, disciplinary procedures and campus police response.