A civil lawsuit filed by a former Cornell University student, alleging she was drugged and raped by fraternity members, has brought renewed attention to the intricate and often confusing systems survivors of sexual assault must navigate on college campuses. The case, in which prosecutors initially declined to press charges, underscores the difficulties in achieving justice through both university disciplinary processes and the criminal justice system.
In her lawsuit, the former student, identified as Jane Doe, claims she was assaulted in 2024 and that Cornell failed to adequately protect her or address the alleged perpetrators' actions. While campus police interviewed her and provided information to the district attorney's office, the prosecutor at the time decided against bringing charges. However, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced this week that the case has been re-opened.
Cornell University has defended its handling of the incident, stating it conducted an extensive investigation and imposed sanctions based on its findings. The university also noted its creation of a new framework for addressing sexual assault and asserted it followed the procedures mandated by Title IX, a federal law governing how universities investigate such complaints. According to Cornell, its investigation led to the fraternity involved being barred from campus and disciplinary actions, including suspension or expulsion, for the students implicated.
Jane Doe's allegations echo the experiences of other survivors, such as a former student referred to as Mary, whose name was changed to protect her identity. Mary recounted a deeply frustrating process after waking up following a fraternity party with injuries indicating sexual assault. Despite the man she accused eventually being expelled by her university, police declined to pursue charges due to a lack of physical evidence. Mary described feeling immense emotional strain and having to act as her own advocate to gather evidence, ultimately leaving her with a sense of disappointment in the system.
Advocates for sexual assault survivors point to the dual nature of these reporting processes as a significant hurdle. Universities typically have a Title IX office that determines if alleged behavior violates campus policy, often leading to a hearing with faculty or mediators. Simultaneously, survivors may engage with the criminal justice system, which operates under different rules, timelines, and burdens of proof.
"These processes are hard to navigate if you aren't in trauma," said Nancy Chi Cantalupo, an associate professor of law at Wayne State University. "If you are in trauma, they're virtually impossible to navigate."
Zoey Scheinblum-Brewer, a policy coordinator at RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), highlighted that unclear guidance on the options available through these parallel systems can lead to confusion, deterring some students from reporting altogether. Mary shared similar sentiments, wishing for clearer information about the process beforehand and feeling that university officials were learning alongside her.
While some institutions have information-sharing agreements with local law enforcement, survivors like Mary were sometimes told to report separately to police, a physically and emotionally taxing task. In Mary's case, despite surveillance footage and photographs of her injuries, police cited a lack of probable cause for an arrest and suggested the district attorney preferred to leave the matter to university administration. This left her feeling that law enforcement had absolved itself of responsibility because the university was handling the investigation.
University investigations are often conducted privately, a practice some believe is intended to protect institutional reputations. Helene Weiss, a lawyer representing victims of campus sexual assault, noted that this secrecy can prevent other students from coming forward or coming forward as witnesses. Conversely, Michael Diamondstein, an attorney representing students accused of misconduct, argued that this privacy protects both parties from the more public and potentially damaging scrutiny of a courtroom.
Cornell students themselves have voiced criticism, with the student newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun, publishing the names of the accused students under the banner "Cornell won't, we will." The university stated that federal privacy law prevents it from disclosing specific information about individual student disciplinary actions.
Despite the challenges, advocates acknowledge potential benefits to universities investigating these complaints separately from the criminal justice system. Prosecuting sexual assault cases in criminal court is statistically difficult, with low conviction rates. Campus tribunals, under Title IX, can operate with a lower burden of proof. Furthermore, universities can offer accommodations like preventing alleged abusers from being in the same classes as survivors, or providing extensions on coursework, services that law enforcement cannot provide.
For Mary, pursuing her claim through Title IX became her sole path to seeking accountability, culminating in the expulsion of her alleged assailant. "This was my only avenue to achieve any sort of justice," she said.