Cornell faculty senate moves to censure administration over gang rape allegations as protests grow

Faculty members of Cornell University's Faculty Senate have introduced a no-confidence vote resolution against the university administration over its handling of a gang rape case, as hundreds of protesters gathered on campus demanding the dismissal of those responsible.

The Faculty Senate submitted the no-confidence resolution to the university's faculty committee Monday evening (local time), according to CNN. The committee will review the resolution and place it on the agenda for the full Faculty Senate meeting on Oct. 14. Paul Ortiz, a Cornell labor history professor and senate member, told CNN the filing reflected mounting pressure from within the university community. "Hundreds of students, alumni and staff have come to the faculty and said we need to do something," he said.

About 40 senate members have so far expressed support for the no-confidence resolution, according to Ortiz. The Faculty Senate is the principal legislative advisory and deliberative body representing the university's faculty, with more than 75 voting members. "We are tired of the sexual assaults happening to students. We are tired of the administration's non-response to this issue," Ortiz said. "Current students, former students and alumni who have actually donated to this university are fed up."

Separate from the Faculty Senate's move, protests have continued on campus day after day, with students and local residents joining together to denounce the administration with chants of "Shame on you" and "Resign."

The anger stems from allegations that university administrators failed to adequately protect a woman known by the pseudonym Jane Doe after she first reported a sexual assault to campus police in 2024. The case came to light after Doe alleged she was gang raped by seven male students over roughly two hours at a fraternity house party in 2024. Her representatives said she had been rendered incapacitated after being given ketamine and alcohol by fraternity members.

Doe reported the assault to campus police three weeks after it occurred, but prosecutors declined to bring formal charges. The university conducted its own investigation and imposed disciplinary measures on some students, including expulsion and suspension. When it emerged that only two students had been expelled and most had received only minor penalties such as writing letters of reflection, the university faced widespread criticism for what many called a slap on the wrist.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul subsequently ordered a reinvestigation, citing a loss of confidence in the existing investigative process and saying a proper inquiry could not proceed under the current structure. She appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor. Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff issued a video statement calling the case "a heartbreaking and troubling matter involving sexual assault, dehumanization, and aspects of party culture and the use of alcohol and drugs," and said he would accept both the attorney general's reinvestigation and an external law firm's review of how the case was handled. Even so, the backlash shows no sign of subsiding.