Cornell officials pressed by faculty as outrage mounts over alleged gang rape

CNN

By Danya Gainor, Gloria Pazmino, Maria Sole Campinoti, CNN

(CNN) — Professors and staff at Cornell University pressed administration officials Tuesday as outrage builds over the alleged gang rape of a former student at a fraternity house in 2024, with questions raised about how the school and law enforcement responded as a new investigation of the case begins.

In a virtual webinar, university officials confirmed two students named in the civil lawsuit filed last month by a woman, identified as Jane Doe, are still enrolled and attending classes, according to a recording of the session obtained by CNN.

Some faculty members said they were struggling to teach classes the accused student are in and raised questions about how to accommodate them and other students, as well as questions on transparency, perceived lack of communication over the case, and how to address cultural issues with Greek life on campus.

“This is certainly and most intimately a Cornell community cultural challenge that we’re facing,” said Ryan Lombardi, vice president for student and campus life, at Tuesday’s meeting. “But we know that the world is watching, and we know that we’re all feeling that.”

A spokesperson for Cornell University did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

The meeting comes a day after faculty members submitted a resolution for a vote of no confidence against the school’s administrators – a formal rebuke of a group’s leadership and often an attempt to force change or compel resignations.

Since the lawsuit was filed, frustrations on campus have grown with students and community members rallying in support of Doe and calling for more accountability by university administrators. A seven-hour sit-in is planned for Wednesday and the mayor of Ithaca, where Cornell is located, is expected to hold a council meeting over his proposal to pause Greek life and student gatherings.

University President Michael Kotlikoff, who released a video over the weekend saying the school would take a “serious look at the role of fraternities and sororities on campus,” struck a more skeptical tone Tuesday, cautioning against taking drastic action.

“This is obviously an absolutely horrendous and inexcusable situation that occurred in a fraternity,” Kotlikoff said Tuesday, “But I have to make the point that this doesn’t only occur in fraternities, I worry about pushing this into the shadows, into houses which we don’t own, which are private houses, which have parties, and which things can occur beyond our purview.”

Here’s the latest:

• Faculty grill university administrators: Faculty and staff said during Tuesday’s webinar with administrators that they were struggling to teach classes that included the two accused students. Provost Kavita Bala said they were working through different options to “manage the dynamics in the classroom.” More than 300 questions were submitted with only a handful read aloud and addressed, university officials said.
• No-confidence vote coming: The Faculty Senate will review a resolution for a no-confidence vote before it’s added to the Senate’s meeting agenda for October 14, labor history professor and Faculty Senate member Paul Ortiz said. The Senate is Cornell’s main legislative advisory and review body, with more than 75 members representing the university’s faculty. So far, about 40 senators have supported a resolution to hold a vote of no confidence, Ortiz said. CNN has reached out to Cornell officials for comment.
• Wednesday meetings and protests: The Ithaca Common Council is scheduled to meet Wednesday at 6 p.m. at City Hall, as Mayor Robert Cantelmo seeks council action on a proposed moratorium on student and special event permits, including Greek life and other student gatherings, following the allegations of gang rape at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024. Meanwhile, protests have cropped up all over the Ivy League school’s campus. Some groups are planning to host a seven-hour sit-in on Wednesday “in solidarity with Jane Doe,” starting at 1:30 p.m., according to social media flyers for the event. On Monday, professors joined students at a rally, where demonstrators held signs reading “Justice for every Jane Doe” and “Cornell admin betrays survivors resign now.”
• Students host town hall: Students on Tuesday also hosted a town hall to discuss the ongoing issues on campus. A young woman in attendance said the event had helped “restore my faith in the community.” Another student added they were glad to see the media spotlight being shined on the school. “Sexual violence should make the headlines, it should be shocking, it should be newsworthy because it should be incredibly rare,” they said.
• Cornell’s independent review: Former US Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates will lead an independent review of how Cornell University “prevents and responds to sexual harassment, sexual assault and related misconduct on campus,” the university announced Tuesday. Yates and her team will “conduct a detailed review of the university’s response” to Doe’s allegations, “including whether Cornell followed its policies and procedures in responding to the matter,” the university said in a release.
• Doe receiving threats: Doe is dealing with threats and attempts to reveal her identity, her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, said Tuesday, telling CNN’s Anderson Cooper: “Just before I got on with you, somebody called her, made a threat to shoot up her house, shoot her, her mother, her father. She’s calling the police as we speak now.” She’s received other threats since filing her lawsuit, but this was the first phone call, the lawyer said, adding, “We’re terrified.” Giuffra previously said that he himself received a threat Sunday morning.
• Survivors of sexual violence are reaching out for help in near-record numbers: Over the past week, calls to the National Sexual Assault Hotline are up 73%, and there were more than double the normal number of calls on Monday alone, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, which operates the hotline. Many of those contacting the hotline say they were prompted to call as a direct result of reading about Doe’s case, the organization’s president, Scott Berkowitz, said. “We admire, and are so grateful for, Jane Doe’s courage. RAINN stands with her, as do millions of survivors and supporters across the country,” Berkowitz said.
• Letters to wireless carriers: Newly obtained documents show Cornell police drafted letters to wireless carriers related to “investigating a sexual assault incident” about a week after Doe first reported the alleged assault to university police and drafted letters to Verizon and T-Mobile asking them to “preserve all available data,” including texts, calls, and picture and video messages associated with accounts that “may contain evidence pertinent to the ongoing investigation.” It’s not clear whether investigators ever sent the requests, followed up with subpoenas, or whether Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten was aware of them. He has said his office only received from police a six-page statement signed by Doe and Snapchat screenshots. CNN has asked the carriers whether they received the requests from Cornell and if they complied.
• Prosecutors refused additional evidence: The Tompkins County District Attorney’s office — which handled the 2024 criminal investigation — declined at the time to review additional evidence, including more interviews gathered by the campus police department, beyond a six-page statement signed by Doe, according to records obtained by The New York Times. Prosecutors did not express interest in the additional evidence because they had decided, based on Doe’s statement, that “criminal charges would not be pursued in this case,” a Cornell police investigator wrote in a note documenting the call, according to the Times.

Help is available: For help in the US, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or chat 24/7 on online.rainn.org.

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CNN’s Hanna Park, Kara Scannell, Taylor Galgano, Holly Yan and Isa Mudannayake contributed to this report.