Iona Cleave
Cornell University’s president has called for stronger sexual assault laws in New York following a national outcry over a student’s 2024 gang-rape allegations.
After days of silence, Michael Kotlikoff vowed that the Ivy League university would hold fraternities and sororities accountable, improve sexual assault prevention on campus and help push for state-level legislative change.
A former Cornell student, identified only as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit in September alleging she was drugged and gang-raped by seven members of Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024.
The reopened investigation has shocked the US and has plunged the university into crisis. The lawsuit accuses Cornell of failing to adequately punish some of the accused students.
None of the accused men has been charged with a crime. They have denied wrongdoing, and the university has defended its handling of the allegations.
In an eight-minute video message, Mr Kotlikoff called the case a “defining moment” in the university’s history and pledged to lend its support to legislative efforts to change New York’s sexual assault laws.
“We owe it to Jane Doe and to survivors of assault to get this right,” said Mr Kotlikoff, who has served in the role for two years. He acknowledged there were troubling questions about how Cornell handled the investigation.
The case has renewed scrutiny of a controversial state law that makes it difficult to prosecute sexual assault cases if accusers voluntarily drank or took drugs, even if they became too intoxicated to consent.
Roughly 20 states have what critics call the “voluntary intoxication loophole” embedded in their rape laws.
Under the current law, people who were voluntarily intoxicated cannot claim that they were mentally incapacitated during an assault, unless they can show they were physically helpless.
The legislation would allow prosecutors to charge someone with third-degree rape in cases where a victim who was under the influence of drugs or alcohol was unable to control their behaviour and was assaulted by someone who should have “reasonably” understood the victim’s condition.
Kathy Hochul, the New York governor, promised to amend the law. “Voluntary intoxication is not a licence for sexual assault or gang rape, period,” she said on Friday.
Matthew Van Houten, the local district attorney, cited the law in defending his initial decision not to pursue charges against the accused, saying the woman’s original statement to police described voluntary drug use and sexual activity.
According to the lawsuit, Ms Doe, then 20, was pressured to drink high-proof rum and snort ketamine, and was incapable of consent. A fraternity member allegedly invited others to join a group chat with dozens of members with a message saying there was “free p—y” alongside a picture of Ms Doe.
Thomas Giuffra, who represents the alleged victim, said on Sunday that she had been targeted with “multiple threats” to silence or harm her if she did not withdraw her lawsuit.
“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,” he told CNN.
Mr Giuffra earlier told NBC News that Ms Doe was “not doing well” and was “hanging on by a string”.
The day before the alleged incident, campus police arrested an individual at the fraternity for a drug-related offence after an overdose was reported, CNN reported.
The archived police log does not identify the individual or the drugs involved or establish a connection between the drug incident and the alleged assault that happened afterwards.
Amid mounting international attention, the New York state attorney’s office has taken over the criminal investigation and appointed a special prosecutor.
Mr Kotlikoff, who is facing calls to resign, also called for a “serious look at the role of fraternities and sororities in campus life” to examine how to preserve the benefits of Greek life while strengthening accountability and transparency.
“Being part of a group can never diminish individual responsibility for our own actions, for how we treat others or for speaking up when someone may be at risk,” he said.
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
From our partners
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.