Cornell faces questions over student dorm assignment
One of students disciplined in alleged gang rape case was placed in co-ed dorm
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One of the seven Cornell University students disciplined in connection with an alleged 2024 gang rape at a fraternity house returned to campus this fall after a three-semester suspension and was placed in a co-ed dorm with a roommate who had no idea about his past, according to a professor familiar with the housing arrangement.
University housing officials then left the accused student in that shared room for two weeks after the woman who made the allegation filed a lawsuit in
September publicly accusing him of rape, psychology professor Corinna Loeckenhoff said at a Faculty Senate meeting. Meanwhile, Cornell students shared the accused student's name and dorm location on social media.
"This was a clear security risk," Loeckenhoff told Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff at the Oct. 14 meeting, according to a recording obtained by The Associated Press.
"Cornell's own records show that, at the very least, he admitted to taking drugs and having sex with an intoxicated person," Loeckenhoff said. "Why was Housing Services not aware of this? They had no clue until the shocked roommate contacted them and asked them for a room change," she said.
Kotlikoff faces a possible no-confidence vote from faculty this week. Debate on the issue resumes Wednesday. In response to questions from the AP, Cornell said it would examine how the dorm room situation was handled.
"The university will review whether concerns were raised with housing or other offices and, if so, whether appropriate accommodations were provided," the university said.
Cornell explains decision
The woman, identified in court papers by the pseudonym Jane Doe, sued Cornell and seven men last month, saying she was given ketamine and raped at a fraternity house in 2024.
All those men have denied her allegations, saying either the sex was consensual or they weren't involved. The local district attorney initially decided the woman had consented to the encounter, and that no crime had been committed, but the investigation has since been reopened and handed to New York's attorney general.
Cornell disciplined several members of the Chi Phi fraternity following a monthslong Title IX investigation. Two were expelled, two received suspensions and probation, and two were required to write "reflection" papers and complete bystander training. A seventh man had already graduated and was barred from campus, according to records obtained by The New York Times.
One of the expelled students later enrolled at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. The university said it was unaware of the allegations when it admitted him and acted immediately after learning of them. It declined to say what action it took or whether he remains enrolled, citing federal student privacy laws.
The student who returned to Cornell this fall had been suspended for three semesters.
Andrew Miltenberg, an attorney representing the student, said his client maintains the encounter was consensual. He cautioned against treating all seven accused students as equally responsible.
In her lawsuit, Jane Doe accused the student of having sex with her without her consent alongside another fraternity member and later joining other men in snorting ketamine from her body.