Student Felt 'Unsupported and Disbelieved' by Cornell President Over Assault Allegations

A former Cornell University student who alleges she was gang-raped at a campus fraternity house in 2024 has stated she felt "unsupported and disbelieved" by the school's president, Michael Kotlikoff. The student, identified as Jane Doe, conveyed this sentiment in a letter sent to the faculty senate earlier this month.

Doe's letter, obtained by ABC News, described a conversation between Kotlikoff and the president of her sorority shortly after Doe reported the alleged assault to campus police. According to Doe's letter, Kotlikoff's initial response was along the lines of, "Why did she wait so long to report it?" The sorority president interpreted this question as doubt regarding the veracity of Doe's account.

"When the then-Tri Delta President relayed this conversation to me, I felt unsupported and disbelieved by President Kotlikoff," Doe wrote. "It diminished my confidence in the administration's ability to approach my experience with the understanding, sensitivity, and fairness I had hoped for and expected from what had been my dream school."

The alleged assault occurred over the night of October 19 into the morning of October 20, 2024, at the Chi Phi fraternity house. Doe reported to campus police on November 8, 2024, that she had been raped by a group of men. All seven fraternity brothers named in a subsequent civil suit have denied wrongdoing, and no criminal charges have been filed in the case.

A spokesperson for Cornell University disputed the characterization of Kotlikoff's remark in Doe's letter. "The second-hand account of the question asked by President Kotlikoff in a January 2025 meeting in the letter is incorrect, based on a documented first-hand account," the spokesperson said in a statement. "The question 'why did it take so long for the assault to be reported' was directed at bystanders who did not use Cornell's anonymous tip line, despite ongoing social media activity about the incident in October 2024. He was not questioning Jane Doe's reporting."

Doe, who is now 22 and has since dropped out of Cornell, stated her intention in sharing the information with the faculty senate was for awareness, and she did not offer an opinion on how the senate should vote on a pending resolution of no confidence in Kotlikoff and the university administration. "It is important to me that the Faculty Senate be made aware of this letter so that its members can make an informed choice about how they wish to consider or act upon the information it contains," she wrote.

Recently, a former president of the Chi Phi fraternity was dropped from Doe's civil suit after he was mistakenly identified as the chapter president at the time of the alleged attack.