Cornell president vows review in wake of alleged student gang rape

NEW YORK: The president of Cornell University voiced support Saturday (Oct 3) for an external review of the institution facing widespread outcry over the alleged gang rape of a student in 2024.

The incident was detailed in a graphic lawsuit filed last month, drawing harsh backlash against the Ivy League institution and New York prosecutors for not filing any criminal charges against the accused perpetrators.

"In conjunction with our board of trustees, I welcome the independent review by an outside law firm into all aspects of Cornell's handling of the 2024 matter," President Michael Kotlikoff said in a video shared on Cornell's website.

The plaintiff claimed in the civil suit that she was drugged with ketamine, assaulted and raped by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity, a social club for male students.

"This has been one of the most difficult weeks in our history, and I know many of you are angry, saddened, and struggling," Kotlikoff continued.

"What happened to Jane Doe in 2024 is deeply disturbing and will weigh heavily on our community for years to come."

The criminal investigation into the gang rape was reopened Monday, with New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointing the state's top prosecutor, Attorney General Letitia James, to lead the effort.

Hochul slammed how the initial investigation into the complainant's claims unfolded at Cornell, which is located in Ithaca in central New York state.

"She sat for hours and told (police) exactly what happened to her. And according to new reports, she could not have been clearer that she was 100 per cent confident that she had been raped," Hochul said.

Kotlikoff said in the video the school supported the decision to reopen the criminal investigation, but added that Cornell "will not wait for the investigation or the review to be completed before we act".

"We will continue taking every step necessary to make Cornell an institution that leads not just in what we say about these issues, but in the work that we do to address them."

Meanwhile, thousands of American women have taken to social media to support the alleged victim after a political commentator threatened to reveal her identity.

Messages of support with the hashtag #IAmJaneDoe have proliferated on TikTok, X and Instagram, with users claiming to be the alleged victim in a bid to make it harder to identify her.

Some US media outlets have compared the wave of online support to the #MeToo movement in 2017, when millions of women took to social media to share stories of sexual assault and harassment following revelations about Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Following the rape allegations, Cornell shut down the fraternity and temporarily suspended the students allegedly involved, several of whom were later expelled.

Local authorities said they declined to prosecute in 2024 because the complainant's testimony did not establish a lack of consent.

In the United States, one in four female undergraduates reported forced sexual contact or sexual contact for which they could not consent, according to a 2020 study of 33 institutions by the Association of American Universities.