ITHACA — More than 100 Cornell University students, alumni, parents and faculty members voiced anger and frustration Thursday night during a meeting focused on the explosive Jane Doe gang-rape case. One student urged her peers to “fight like hell against the administration.”
Several members of the upstate New York campus community wept as they criticized Cornell’s handling of allegations made in 2024 by a former student identified as Jane Doe.
“Survivors need to know they’re supported … through this event, we’ve seen exactly the opposite,” said one student, who disclosed that she had been sexually assaulted two years ago.
“We need to fight like hell against the administration … to my fellow students, speak loud about the wrongdoings that have been done here on campus because if we don’t, we may never be able to again,” she said.
The student government hearing at the prestigious university, which has just over 16,000 undergraduates, came as Jane Doe’s allegations drew national attention this week. The case has raised questions about the response from Cornell, local law enforcement and prosecutors.
In a 101-page lawsuit, Jane Doe alleges that seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity took turns raping her for hours on Oct. 20, 2024, after reportedly giving her ketamine and alcohol. She reported the alleged assault to campus police on Nov. 8. Following a lengthy Title IX investigation, Cornell suspended and expelled some of the students. No criminal charges were filed, however, with prosecutors citing insufficient evidence.
At Thursday night’s meeting, students directed much of their anger toward Cornell’s administration.
“I think the administration should make a statement instead of hiding in Day Hall like the cowards they are,” one student said.
“All I can think about is Jane Doe … How many times did she have to pass her rapists in the hallway? It’s awful,” the student added.
A male senior said he “refuse[s] to accept a degree from a university who allows … people to be treated this way” and insisted that Cornell “has to be accountable within this year.”
“Otherwise there’s going to be an instruction from the top down to sexually assault and practice toxic masculinity,” he said.
The senior said the fraternity system as a whole “[has] a history of ritualizing sexual violence.” A professor and mother of a student called for stronger action, proposing that Cornell “crack down on fraternities on campus and get rid of the ones that consistently violate safety policies and foster other problems.”
A male freshman also criticized fraternity culture, describing one of his first campus experiences this year. He said he encountered another first-year student outside a fraternity house who “wasn’t allowed in” and had been left by her friends because she “didn’t want to suck a d–k.”
“I can’t even tell you how let down I feel,” a student’s mother said before breaking down in tears.
Though she said she was proud of the Cornell community and of Jane Doe, the mother said she was “disgusted that she had to file a civil lawsuit to make her voice heard.”
“We’ve been fighting rape culture my entire life,” said the mother, who turns 50 this year.
“You should be able to go to any college in the country and be safe,” she said. Another speaker added, “No woman should feel unsafe walking at the place where they are receiving their education.”
“They should not feel like all of the evidence and information they give cops won’t make it to the DA’s office,” she said, appearing to refer to a police transcript that the office of Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said it did not receive. In the transcript, Jane Doe reportedly said, “I can say with 100% confidence that I was raped.”
Sophia, a student and member of the ACLU, said Cornell’s student body was facing “a mental health crisis right now.” She argued that students “should not be expected” to keep up with academic responsibilities “while they’re grieving.”
The mother and university professor said she had heard many attendees describe themselves as embarrassed and ashamed to be Cornellians. Even so, she said, “I’m so proud that my child is going here at a time when you all are trying to break the cycle.”
“I don’t want you to be embarrassed. I want you to see the change you can make and make it, because it’s systemic, cultural and it’s been around for a long time,” she said, choking up.
“You are less likely to get help from administrators,” she cautioned. “But I promise you there are faculty and staff on this campus who want to help you.”
“Use this anger…and get to work tomorrow,” she added.