Cornell president refuses to resign over gang-rape handling

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 15:08 · Archive

Cornell University's president has admitted knowing about an alleged gang rape for months without investigating, and will not resign.

Michael Kotlikoff, president of Cornell University, admitted this week that he knew a student had reported being gang-raped at a fraternity in 2024 but took no action to investigate. He did not try to learn whether any accused men were punished and only discovered the alleged victim had dropped out when she filed a lawsuit last month under the name Jane Doe. The woman alleges she was drugged and raped by seven members of the now-defunct Chi Phi fraternity in Ithaca, New York in October 2024. None of the men have been criminally charged and all have denied wrongdoing.

In response to campus protests and calls for his resignation, Kotlikoff said he understood the anger but indicated he would not step down. 'The fact that Jane Doe experienced what she experienced at Cornell is something that I am personally sorry for,' he said. Cornell announced that all fraternity house parties would be suspended for the rest of the academic year, with immediate emergency suspensions for anyone in breach. The university also created a presidential task force in February 2025 to address sexual assault and introduced orientation training on the issue for new students.

Jane Doe's lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said the civil lawsuit was filed to improve Cornell's response to abuse claims. 'While the steps announced today are helpful to achieve this goal, they are too late to protect Ms Doe,' he said. Students including Cornell undergraduate Jane Wang shared their experiences of sexual assault at a public hearing, describing a lack of accountability in the university's response.

How it is being reported

• Cornell bans frat parties for the rest of year after gang rape claims‘These conversations, and campus protests, have underscored my deep conviction that we must do better.’Metro · 14 Oct, 14:58
• Cornell University bans fraternity parties after alleged gang rapeCornell University will ban parties and social events at fraternity houses until the end of the academic year, its president said on Tuesday, responding to the outcry over an alleged gang rape on campus in 2024. The measure is the strongest reaction yet from Cornell's leadership to a lawsuit filed by a former undergraduate, Jane Doe, alleging seven men sexually assaulted her during a party. Over the last several weeks, the Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York, and its president, Michael Kotlikoff, have come under heavy criticism over its response to the allegations.France 24 · 14 Oct, 14:55
• Cornell president admits he learned about alleged frat gang-rape months ago, but will not resignThe university has banned fraternity parties for the rest of the yearIndependent World · 14 Oct, 14:29

In this story: Cornell University · Michael Kotlikoff · Chi Phi · Ithaca · Jane Doe · Thomas Giuffra · Jane Wang

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem