‘Cornell protects rapists’: Outrage at the university after leniency toward accused comes to light
Two of the ‘Cornell 7’ accused of assaulting a female student were expelled, while others were only required to write papers or take courses on sexual violence
“Let’s defeat the patriarchy.” “Cornell protects rapists and expels protesters.” Graffiti like this appeared Monday morning on the facade of Day Hall, one of Cornell University’s administrative buildings. This is the latest sign of outrage among many students over a case that has shaken not only this elite New York State university but the entire United States — a country that is increasingly viewing with concern how sexual violence against women on college campuses is a structural problem for which no solution has been found.
The graffiti accusing the university of protecting rapists refers to the lightness of the punishments given to the accused in the case brought by the former student known by the pseudonym Jane Doe, who said she was the victim of a gang rape in October 2024 by those now known as “the Cornell 7.” Documents published by The New York Times show that two of the accused were expelled from the university. Another, who had already graduated, was banned from the campus.
The university suspended two others for several semesters and handed down a period of probation. And two more (who entered the room after receiving a text message offering sex with a woman) were ordered not to contact Jane Doe, to take courses on sexual harassment and social media use, and to write “reflection papers” on the subject, the Times reports. The events took place on October 19, 2024. That day, Jane Doe went to a party at the Chi Phi fraternity in Ithaca, the city where the university is located.
She had been drinking and went to the fraternity house to meet Matthew Ingalls. In a room they began having sex and he asked if a third person, Jonathan Newell, should join them. During the encounter, she says she was given ketamine and more alcohol until she lost the ability to consent. These two men — the ones who were expelled — invited other fraternity members via Snapchat messages to join in the assault reported by Jane Doe, which lasted for several hours.
A few weeks later, Jane Doe reported the incident to the university police. In testimony that lasted several hours, she said she was 100% certain she had been raped. But that statement was not passed on to the prosecutor’s office, which therefore did not consider it necessary to open an investigation and did not file charges against the alleged attackers. Cornell University has been criticized for its handling of the case.
After several days of silence during which its president, Michael Kotlikoff, was at the center of controversy, over the weekend he alluded, without saying so explicitly, to mistakes in the university’s handling of the matter. “We must do better,” he said in an eight-minute video. “We don’t have all the answers, but we are committed to investigating and finding the answers our community deserves.” He also said that the university will examine the role of fraternities, which some people are calling for a ban on because they are associated with practices that can sometimes be humiliating.
“At their best, these organizations can provide students with friendship, belonging, mentorship and a powerful sense of community. But being part of a group can never diminish individual responsibility,” Kotlikoff said. Amid this national debate, Jane Doe’s lawyer said on Sunday that his client has received threats from people demanding she withdraw the civil lawsuit against the seven alleged attackers, the university, the fraternity they belonged to, and her own sorority for not having supported her.
“I’m not afraid of these people,” lawyer Thomas Giuffra told CNN. “But the threats, the abuse to protect what’s going on, the status quo — these guys are disgusting. They should stay in their mother’s basement and stay out of the world. After Jane Doe’s lawsuit became public, the state governor, Democrat Kathy Hochul, announced last Friday the removal of the prosecutor in charge of the case and her replacement with Letitia James, the New York attorney general with a reputation for being relentless.
James is a long-time adversary of President Donald Trump, whom she sued in 2022 — before he won his second term and returned to the White House — for financial fraud. A New York judge ultimately imposed a fine on the Republican magnate of about $454 million. Trump has appealed that ruling and says the entire process is politically motivated. Asked last Friday about James’s appointment in the Cornell case, the president of the United States said he felt sorry for the seven accused, calling James “corrupt.”
“I feel badly for whoever she’s looking at because they won’t get a fair shake,” Trump said. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition